Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Taking Woodstock
2009
***
Director: Ang Lee
Cast: Demetri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Henry Goodman, Liev Schreiber, Jonathan Groff, Eugene Levy, Emile Hirsch, Paul Dano

Elliot, an aspiring artist, is stuck helping his Jewish parents run their shabby motel in Bethel, New York. In the summer of 1969 he decides to boost the business by offering his permit for a music festival to the organisers of Woodstock, and the rest is history. This nostalgic comedy tells an enjoyable but rather trivial story of his self-discovery, which happens to coincide with the biggest event of his generation. Sadly Elliot is a rather dull character, and once peace and love sweep over the region, we get all of the hippie clichés but none of the music played at the festival. Based on the actual events and adapted from the book Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert and a Life by Elliot Tiber and Tom Monte.