Year: 2007
Director: John Sayles
Writer: John Sayles
Cinematographer: Dick Pope
Cast: Danny Glover, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Yaya DaCosta, Charles S. Dutton, Stacy Keach, Mary Steenburgen, and Sean Patrick Thomas
Running Time: 123 min.
Director John Sayles explores a time when juke joints were the place one could find release after a hard week in the cotton fields, all the while documenting that pulsating moment when the blues became rock ‘n roll. Set in 1950 rural Alabama, Honeydripper tells the story of the Honeydripper Lounge and its owner, piano player Tyrone “Pine Topâ€? Purvis. Deep in debt and struggling to survive the competition of a rival joint, Tyrone hires famous electric guitar player “Guitar Samâ€? in a make-or-break plan to save the club. However, when the train comes in and Guitar Sam is nowhere to be found, Tyrone must think of another plan to protect his business. Honeydripper features a dynamic cast headed by Danny Glover, as well as such notable musicians as Keb’ Mo’ and Dr. Mable John. It also introduces a major new talent, Gary Clark Jr. who makes his electrifying film debut as Sonny.
Sayles has commented on what inspired him to make the film. “There was no single moment when R&B, blues, gospel, jazz, and country all came together to create this thing called rock ‘n roll,� he said, “but a big change came with the advent of the electric guitar. Before that, the piano ruled—it produced a lot more sound than a little acoustic guitar. Suddenly, a poor boy like Sonny could travel around with a portable, cheap, high-volume electric guitar and peel the paint off the walls. There were lots of Guitar Sams and Guitar Slims in those days. Everybody was moving around and listening to each other—white and black. ..At the same time, I wanted to capture that poignant period when the old blues styles were waning…. In any field—sports, music, politics—these times of change are incredibly rich.�
In a review in Variety, critic John Anderson writes: “John Sayles the storyteller and John Sayles the political progressive haven’t always played well together, but, in the endearing musical time-piece Honeydripper, the indie icon lets his narrative gifts take the lead and the social issues follow like a tight bass line. The result is one of Sayles’ best films.â€?
