Honeydripper (PG)

Dir: John Sayles, 2007, USA, 123mins
Cast: Danny Glover, Stacy Keach, Gary Clark Jr.

John Sayles excels in telling the stories of small-town America. He has moved around from Colorado to Florida to Alaska as well as other parts of the United States, picking up the often-missed tales of Americana. His latest film looks at an unexplored time in American history, culturally and socially. Set in Alabama at the beginning of the Fifties, this was the period after World War II yet before the civil rights movement. It was also a time when music was undergoing a revolution, away from the delta blues and ragtime and into the new form of rock n'roll. For those moving through this time, it was often difficult to reconcile the shifts in momentum whereby the younger generation were clamouring for their type of music to be played and for their voices to be heard.

This shifting of the tides forms the basis of the film. Tyrone Purvis (Glover) owns the eponymous bar but is seeing his clientele disappear off to the neighbouring bar Touissants, which plays the new rock n'roll music that is coming to dominate the musical landscape. In a desperate attempt to win people back to his particular venue, Purvis claims to have hired the famous guitar player Guitar Sam, to play a one-off concert through which he aims to save the club.

Written by Sayles, Honeydripper shows his skill at picking up the vernacular of a particular part of America and creating involving, credible dialogue. Sayles puts this down to the fact that he travelled around a lot as a youth and continues to do so, seeing a lot of the world and getting the idiosyncrasies of particular environments. The film is also testament to his ability to create memorable characters, even if they are not the most sympathetic. Talking about Purvis, Sayles admits, “this is a person who steals, cheats, is involved in bribery and yet you're still rooting for him at the end.” In addition to the bar owner, another excellent character is that of the sheriff who is wonderfully played by Keach. Although repugnant in many ways, he never strays into caricature, always obeying the Sayles maxim that everyone has their reasons.

The film also features noted blues musicians Keb' Mo' and Dr. Mable John and they, together with the rest of the assembled band, provide the high points of the film which is the music. In amongst this is the brash young guitar player Sonny (Clark Jr.) who produces a magnificent debut. Every moment he is on stage is the possible instigation of a riot and when he leads the audience out into the street due to his extra-long extension cord, it is undoubtedly the highlight in a paean to the redeeming quality inherent in music.

Nick Purves