Amid an audience decked out in enough red, white and
black retro chic to make Rita Hayworth jealous, I prepared once again to indulge in a musical love affair
that rivals the David Cassidy crushes of the ‘60s. The Toronto International Film Festival hosted the gala
premiere of The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights this past Friday, with appearances by director Emmett Malloy and of
course, the devastatingly cool guitar and drum duo themselves.
Malloy, who was welcomed with impressive
enthusiasm by the audience, introduced the real guests of honour Jack and Meg White. Prompted by the
appearance of the slick and sophisticated pair, the crowd quickly rose for an extended standing ovation.
Jack, a master of audience hypnosis, took the opportunity to tease Meg about her silence, “I’m just going to
say a few words before Meg does her stand-up routine.” But the shy and soft-spoken Meg coyly flirted with the
flashing bulbs at her feet and for a few moments she resembled one Megan Fox more than a Meg(an)
White.
The movie chronicles The White Stripes’ 2007
Canadian tour, during which the band challenged itself to play a show in every province and territory in
Canada. The duo not only played the bigger gigs, but played several “sideshows” in small towns or in obscure
venues such as a tribal elder community centre in Iqaluit, and the front of a city bus in
Winnipeg.
Initially I wondered if the flick was solely
enjoyable because of the audience’s quiet Canadian pride, but the doc quickly became a stellar concert
documentary, a compelling love story and a sharp comedy. The movie rocks you like you expect it would, but
comes close to being a tearjerker in the final moments (at least to me and some other women in the ladies
room).
At the end of the night, Malloy returned to the
stage only to be interrupted by Jack White, who channelled Kanye West and dashed onstage. “I’m gonna let you
finish. I’m gonna let you finish,” he said. “But, Orson Wells had one of the greatest movies of all time.”
White may be right, but Malloy created a movie that made this fan want to rush the stage and rudely proclaim
my admiration. — Jessica Ford
