Although there is nothing quite as transcendent as seeing
The Cure perform live. But The Cure in Orange director Tim Pope’s
concert film of their fortieth anniversary show in London’s Hyde Park last July
captures the spirit of their performances with the intimate understanding that a
Cure concert is an event to be treasured for what it is – there is minimal preemption,
and the moment the music starts, it is clear that this veteran band holds the
keys to its own world in its pocket. Stylistically straightforwardly – and lovingly
– shot, this is the Cure up close, an intimate awareness of the unquestionable
relevance of their music permeating its candor. This is a music-lover’s concert
film, eschewing the idea of a narrative to let the songs speak for themselves;
focusing equally on each of the band members and allowing the natural shifts in
mood between tracks tell its own winding story. There are no extraneous
side-dishes – instead, Pope chooses to bite deeply into the meat and marrow of
this iconic band to create a film that is as close as one can get without
actually having been in the crowd that night.
Frontman Robert Smith, beneath his unruly mop of greying
hair, with kohl-darkened eyes and his signature slapdash slash of askew bright
red lipstick, has an onstage demeanor that is almost shy, with a gentle humor
that shines as he rolls through a carefully constructed setlist spanning his
band’s expansive canon. The film includes the entire twenty-nine song set,
beginning (as the now thirty-year-old magnum opus, Disintegration, does)
with the sweeping, desolately mellifluous “Plainsong”. Almost shimmering in the
shadowy twilight sun-stream, Smith’s voice echoing strongly out across an ocean
of fans, this will be a night to remember for each and every one of them.
Joined by his bandmates, Simon Gallup (bass), Roger O’Donnell (keyboards),
Reeves Gabrels (guitar) and Jason Cooper (drums), Robert Smith looks like a man
gearing up to make more memories.
The material may be a bit longer in the tooth these days,
but the beauty of otherness remains the heart of these anthems of goth rock,
the history of darkwave, post-punk, and goth subculture woven into a swerving
tapestry of everything the Cure has been and will continue to be. As unassuming
as Robert Smith is onstage, he is absolutely having the time of his life – and it’s
obvious that he’s pleased as punch to be doing this, forty years after the Cure
began life. Pope’s film captures the depth of this band’s legacy, just in
presenting it as it is.
There are not very many shots of the fans’ individual reactions
to the music, however, which is an unfortunate weakness in a film like this one.
While focus on the performance is important, what has always made the Cure
special to so many people has been in its trove of honesty and vulnerability, reaching
out and clinging to a world so seemingly devoid of sincerity while celebrating
the kind of connection music like theirs can so succinctly and adeptly espouse.
The crowd here is a vast sea of people, some with phones held aloft, and unless
their clapping and cheering and singing along is piped in alongside the sounds
from the stage, it’s easy to forget that they’re a part of the spectacle, too.
While the verve of Anniversary doesn’t quite match
The Cure in Orange, it definitely caters to those who are interested in
living – or reliving – the live experience, these decades of music spanning the
emotional rainbow from ecstasy to despair and all hues in between. From the
hellish red flames of “Burn”, to the neon carnival ride of “Fascination Street”
and the effervescence and slippery nightmare logic in the crawly “Lullaby”, the
Cure’s set is enhanced with some fantastic animated graphics displayed behind
them, interacting with them as they play. Wish-era hearts cavort across
the back-screen as Robert Smith admits that “it’s the wrong day” for “Friday
I’m in Love”…..”but who cares?!”
Whether it is their earnest melancholy or their sweetly
off-kilter joy that brings us to the music of the Cure, Anniversary is a close
second to actually being in an audience for a live set. There are no theatrics
or editorial trickery; this film is all about watching the band play, immersing
oneself into their hugely influential catalog, and fully looking forward to all
that the Cure will have in store for its next album release this autumn.
Trafalgar Releasing presents The Cure – Anniversary 1978-2018
Live in Hyde Park London, screening in theaters for one day only, Thursday,
July 11. To find local screenings and purchase tickets, please visit https://www.thecure.film.
- Dana Culling