Review - Moonage Daydream

Directed by: Brett Morgen
Written by: Brett Morgen
Starring: David Bowie
Running Time: 134 minutes
Rating: 4.5/5

David Bowie is one of the most important artists of the 20th century.

This sentiment was shared by the director of Moonage Daydream, Brett Morgen, before the documentary’s North American Premiere at the Cinesphere Monday night, and it’s a statement that, as a devoted fan of Bowie, I share wholeheartedly. Bowie’s constant need for creation and exploration of the self, artistically and personally, has always been at the forefront of his music and philosophical ethos, which is a journey that has helped me through a lot of personal struggles over the past decade.

Though many books, films, documentaries, interviews and various other media have covered and overlapped similar story beats of Bowie’s narrative in the public sphere, Morgen decides to go a little bit out there with his documentary, the first project approved by the Bowie Estate (including Bowie himself before passing away in 2016 shortly after his 69th birthday, days after releasing Blackstar), by using the canvas of IMAX to reflect the words and songs of Bowie back to its audience, and create one of the finest pieces of documentary storytelling this year that should be embraced on the biggest screen and loudest sound system possible.

Moonage Daydream frames Bowie in various eras of his career, expectedly using majority of its runtime in the 70’s where he was arguably the most in flux creatively, but Morgen understands the underlying parallels throughout Bowie’s life and can jump back and forth throughout the years, never wavering or wanting others in his personal circle to speak for or on behalf of him.

“In an array of Sound and Vision (pun very much intended) that has been one of a handful of instances this year where true IMAX has been used to its extremes, Moonage Daydream allows Morgen to give casual and hardcore Bowie fans an insightful 2-hour journey through the philosophy of creation, both the need and necessity, in what becomes a very personal and vulnerable exploration of the boy from Brixton who always wanted to push the boundaries of convention.”

Though I wish there was more to talk about Bowie’s late 90’s output, or even into the early 2000’s (Heathen is actually really good, and any casual fan should give it a listen), coming from the perspective of Bowie fan who is not familiar with any of Morgen’s other narrative documentary work, he is someone who understand Bowie through and through.   

Bowie is front and center in a way that gives Morgen the proper amount of agency to be as indulgent as possible, whether he uses splashes of colour during musical moments or interview clips interspersed with concert footage and photoshoots, while creating an artistic expression of appreciation that exudes a deep respect and care for Bowie as an artist, a person, and a lonely soul yearning to understand himself and his place in the world.

In an array of Sound and Vision (pun very much intended) that has been one of a handful of instances this year where true IMAX has been used to its extremes, Moonage Daydream allows Morgen to give casual and hardcore Bowie fans an insightful 2-hour journey through the philosophy of creation, both the need and necessity, in what becomes a very personal and vulnerable exploration of the boy from Brixton who always wanted to push the boundaries of convention.