Deborah Hyppa

An excellent movie! I took my neighbor, who came to get out of the house for the night and ended up loving it. I think it helps a lot to know that this movie is based on Robbie Robertson's autobiography - pretty self-evident since he narrates it and is the central character. This is his story and The Band is most of it since that's been his major accomplishment. He met Levon, they reorganized The Hawks into what eventually became The Band. It was amazing. And then it wasn't. A lot of the negative behaviors at The Big Pink house were glossed over here, this is not that story. Of course Levon Helm was a wonderful man and a major talent who is sorely missed, and his barn in rural New York and his Rangers were legendary. That said, no one is to blame for Levon's addiction and the time he lost except himself. This is true for all addicts and the rest of us who have made poor choices along the way in our lives. I's great that he clawed his way back and built something else amazing after The Band but this is not that story. Levon's story would make an awesome movie too - how about that, Marty Scorsese? The movie pretty much ends with the night of The Last Waltz. There are brief follow-ups for all five of The Band members, since this is Robbie's story his is slightly more thorough, but the title says it all, "Once Were Brothers." Then there weren't.