new movie review: Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson & the Band

At first glance, the subtitle of Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson & the Band seems like a blatant ego trip for Band guitarist Jaimie Robbie Robertson. This is especially true in light of Levon Helm’s accusation that Robbie Robertson manipulated the production of the concert film/ documentary The Last Waltz to create a false impression of Robertson as leader of the Band, while in reality, no one member of the legendary classic rock group served as a leader.

But the subtitle turns out to be accurate: This is the story of the Band specifically from Robertson’s perspective. He is unapologetically, undisguisedly, the central voice in this story, and we realize the title is less egotistic and more descriptive.

Through the usual documentary methods— archive footage, music clips, photographs, talking head interviews, etc. — Once Were Brothers tells the story of the Band’s journey, from their rockabilly days backing Ronnie Hawkins in the early days of rock & roll, to their first tentative attempts at independence, to their commercially disastrous tour as the backing band for Bob Dylan during the nadir of his popularity, to the ups and downs of artistic and commercial success in their own right. If that sounds fairly straight forward, it is, but the story is an interesting one, and told with a style that is both entertaining and complimentary to rather than overwhelming of the narrative. Robertson is an excellent storyteller (as previously demonstrated in The Last Waltz), and director/ editor Daniel Roher and fellow editor Eamonn O’Connor make excellent use of the nearly nonstop music. (The music is mostly, of course, courtesy of the Band itself, but various artists who influenced the Band — Chuck Berry, Ronnie Hawkins, etc. — are also featured.) Home movies from the period in which the members of the Band lived together in the house known as Big Pink add an authentic flavor to the visuals. And in addition to Robertson’s narrative, we also get insights from an eclectic group of celebrity admirers of the Band’s music. This is a highly entertaining and informative documentary. An emphasis is placed on the brother-like camaraderie that existed between all members of the Band for many years.

Any discussion of the Band, it seems, has to address the eventual, post-break-up feud between guitarist/ songwriter Robertson and drummer/ vocalist Levon Helm. Helm’s autobiography, “This Wheel’s on Fire,” was highly critical of Robertson. He blamed Robertson for the Band’s breakup, and arguably more serious, accused Robertson of stealing songwriting credits — adding his name to songs he didn’t write at all, and removing Band members’ names from songs they’d co-written, falsely claiming solo songwriting credit for collaborative efforts. Followers of this controversy have typically chosen one side or the other, either decrying Helm as a bitter and jealous man flinging false, hurtful accusations, or accusing Robertson of being dishonest, egotistical, and selfish. As Robertson is the primary voice in this documentary, this is his chance to advocate a very one-sided version of events. That’s not what happens here. The movie, with surprising even-handedness and empathy, takes a conciliatory approach to the issue, and surprisingly illustrates how Helm and Robertson might both be right in different ways. Robertson is surprisingly non-defensive, and doesn’t offer any direct arguments against Helm’s accusations. Instead, he laments the very fact that he and Helm even had a rift in the first place. After all, they once were brothers.