Movie Review: The Apollo

The Apollo *** / *****

Directed by: Roger Ross Williams.

Written by: Cassidy Hartmann and Jean Tsien and Roger Ross Williams.

 

There is so much amazing footage in The Apollo that no matter what, it should be seen. Just to see some amazing performances by multiple generations of black performers – musicians, singers, dancers, comedians, etc. – all of whom made their way through the legendary Apollo theater since it opened its doors in 1934. There is so much great footage that you kind of wish the film had been turned into one of those massive Ken Burns style documentary series – 10 hours long, with multiple different episodes. The film feels choppy – jumping from one fascinating subject to another sometimes so quickly, that it starts to feel like little more than a surface level treatment of one of the most important cultural institutions in America. It wants to tell the story of its past, and its future. For a 98-minute feature, it does an admirable job. I just wanted more – more footage, more depth.

 

Watching the film, you get a sense of just what this theater has meant to that community. The film really does do an admirable job of spelling that out – telling stories about the original owners – both through the eyes of some of performers, and his son (who would become the owner). It details how much it meant to the audiences that showed up – who finally got to see people who looked like them on stage, and to the performers, who could be themselves. There is a marvelous, haunting rendition of Strange Fruit by Ella Fitzgerald – a brilliant song, that her label of course didn’t want her to record or perform, lest she offend people down South. At The Apollo though, she could do what she wanted. The film has many such great performances in it.

 

There are a lot of different segments in the film – and it certainly feels like it is segmented, sometimes one segment just stops, and another keeps going. I think I could watch an entire documentary about Amateur night at The Apollo – a tradition that a lot of performers started out, and just how merciless the audience could be. If you weren’t good, you’d get booed – we even see a 13-year-old Lauryn Hill getting booed on amateur night (they also include a later performance – where she is certainly not booed). The sequence on dance at The Apollo feels a little thin – I’m sure there’s a lot of material out there, but it kind of feels like Williams trots out Savion Glover to explain it, and then shoves out the door as he’s just getting warmed out. The same could be said for the comedy segment – in which Jamie Foxx plays the major role, explaining why comedians matter – but not getting much time to show why.

 

The film has a framing device – Williams showing that the Apollo is still relevant, but showing us the rehearsals and performances of a dramatic version of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me. The film wants to pay respect to the past, but wants to ensure everyone watching know just how important The Apollo still is - and hopefully will remain for years to come.

 

I do wish that The Apollo was deeper – it basically skims along the surface for its entire runtime, and while what we see is great, there is no doubt that we could have had an even better film. The Apollo is certainly capable of sustaining the deep dive treatment – and hopefully, it will get that someday.