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Pretenders' Review: A Superb Portrait of Chrissie Hynde and Her Legendary Band Captures Their Incandescence—and Tragedy
Confirmed
In Short: Joss Crowley's documentary 'Pretenders' offers a revealing look at Chrissie Hynde's band, capturing both their incandescence and the personal struggles that shaped their music.
Joss Crowley's 'Pretenders' is a sensational and revealing music documentary that explores the paradox of Chrissie Hynde, the smoldering punk who was also the most majestic songwriter of her scene. The film, which features astonishing archival footage and a lengthy interview with Hynde, delves into the band's journey from the world of rage and nihilism to creating timeless, shimmering music.
The cinematography by Pemba Sherpa captures the band's first UK festival headline slot, showing how they carried the weight of their history while maintaining their incandescence. Hynde's journey to forming her own band, joining forces with Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott, is chronicled, highlighting the karmic addition of Honeyman-Scott to the band.
James Honeyman-Scott, the lead guitarist of the Pretenders, is credited with inventing the 'jangly guitar' sound, a concept that had eluded rock critics for years. Hynde, though punk at heart, was the most romantic songwriter of the scene, and her songs, such as 'Precious,' are celebrated for their power and mystique.
Despite the band's success, 'Pretenders' also touches on the personal struggles that shaped their music, making it a comprehensive and emotional portrait of a legendary band. The film understands that the Pretenders' music transcended the new-wave aesthetic, becoming something timeless and enduring.
What's confirmed
- Joss Crowley's 'Pretenders' is a sensational and revealing music documentary that explores the paradox of Chrissie Hynde, the smoldering punk who was also the most majestic songwriter of her scene. The film, which features astonishing archival footage and a lengthy interview with Hynde, delves into the band's journey from the world of rage and nihilism to creating timeless, shimmering music.
- The cinematography by Pemba Sherpa captures the band's first UK festival headline slot, showing how they carried the weight of their history while maintaining their incandescence. Hynde's journey to forming her own band, joining forces with Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott, is chronicled, highlighting the karmic addition of Honeyman-Scott to the band.
- James Honeyman-Scott, the lead guitarist of the Pretenders, is credited with inventing the 'jangly guitar' sound, a concept that had eluded rock critics for years. Hynde, though punk at heart, was the most romantic songwriter of the scene, and her songs, such as 'Precious,' are celebrated for their power and mystique.
- Despite the band's success, 'Pretenders' also touches on the personal struggles that shaped their music, making it a comprehensive and emotional portrait of a legendary band. The film understands that the Pretenders' music transcended the new-wave aesthetic, becoming something timeless and enduring.
What's still developing
- It was the band’s first UK festival headline slot – and first night of End Of The Road’s 20th iteration – but they made the burden look light, whilst never abandoning the might-they-fall?
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- She tried to join the Damned, but they weren’t biting. (She finally joined a band called the Moors Murders, who were so disreputable that they all performed in masks.) Yet she was writing songs, and her gift was pure; we hear her singing a demo of “Precious” from 1976, and the Hynde mystique is there, fully loaded.
- That sounds like a novelty, but Hynde ruled the stage with such verve, and such effortless punk-ruffian moves, that when you looked at her, you didn’t think that this was pretty much the first time in history that a woman with a guitar slung around her neck had led a rock ‘n’ roll band.
- As the single was getting ready to be pressed, the band still didn’t have a name, so Hynde, inspired by the Platters song “The Great Pretender,” came up with it at the last moment.
- As a rock star, Chrissie Hynde has always been a bit of a paradox — gnarly but cerebral, ferocious yet guarded.
- And yet…as fierce and defining as a song like “Precious” was, it doesn’t represent what I ultimately cherish about the Pretenders.
- How Chrissie Hynde wound up being that kind of songwriter is anyone’s guess.