Sundance London - History of the Eagles Part One Review: Standard But Functional Music Doc

rating: 3.5

Alison Ellwood, who is best known for producing and editing several Alex Gibney documentaries over the last decade, takes on a relatively undemanding task for her first solo feature directing effort (she co-directed Magic Trip with Gibney), molding a standard fare portrait of the popular Californian rock outfit that will nevertheless be an entertaining curio for fans and newbies alike. It has to be said that several critics at my screening - myself included - immediately began to debate following its conclusion whether the "Part One" addendum of the film's title was a facetious adornment or a serious advertisement for more to come, given that the majority of the Eagles' story appears to have been told in this neat, briskly-moving 2-hour documentary. As it turns out, Part Two is in fact on the way, but will largely chart the band's influence and success post-breakup. Though Ellwood includes interviews both recent and old with band members minor and major, the natural focal points are of course the de facto leaders of the group, Glenn Frey and Don Henley, who prove unexpectedly down to Earth even as they lay their story out and name-drop the likes of Bob Seeger and Kenny Rogers along the way. Other band members, with their various insecurities and idiosyncrasies, don't seem quite so stable, specifically Joe Walsh, who made both a sport and an art out of trashing every hotel room he frequented. Though Ellwood doesn't frame the band within the context of the rock music scene by seeking the perspective of other famous musicians, perhaps this is a mercy move on her part, content that it would be needlessly preaching to the converted. Instead, she focuses on the band themselves and figures directly involved with their growth; mammoth producer David Geffen garners easily the film's biggest laugh when failing to explain his reasoning behind butchering a clever Eagles album design. One disappointing omission from the interviewees, however, is Linda Ronstadt, who helped get the band's prominent members their first break, and whose absence would probably cause the uninitiated to assume that she had passed on (which is certainly not the case). Even if not much of it will come as a surprise to fans, there will still be plenty for them to savour - the anecdotes about how certain songs came into existence (namely their immortal Hotel California), and the synergistic juxtaposition of classic Eagles songs along with extensive archive footage - while the uninitiated may find it to be an informative primer on the band and their esteem throughout the industry. An efficient talking heads doc that celebrates the band without deigning to hagiography. The History of the Eagles Part One premiered at Sundance London tonight.