Review: Pink Floyd: The Wall

       Pink Floyd's The Wall is one of the greatest musical albums of all time. It is in my opinion Pink Floyd's best album (some say it's Dark Side of the Moon, but they're wrong). I love this album because each and every song is excellent by itself, but together they tell the very interesting story of Roger Waters' troubled life, and the alienation he felt upon becoming famous. The Wall is one of just a handful of rock operas adapted to film. The only other that I am aware of is The Who's Tommy, still waiting on that The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars movie, Mr. Bowie. The movie version of The Wall is just as much of a triumph as the album is. It visualizes the music so well with a cool blend of live action and animation, and the visualization helps to make clear the messages of the music from the album, which can get lost behind rhythms and melodies. While there are handful of artistic indulgences, the film is very interesting to watch, especially if you're a fan of Pink Floyd's music.

       The story mirrors the same story contained in the musical album. It tells the story of Pink Floyd, here a actual person, rather than the band. Pink is a stand in for Roger Waters, played by the Boomtown Rats frontman, Bob Geldof. Waters was originally slated to play Pink, but after testing poorly with audiences, he was replaced by the New Wave singer. Like Waters, Pink's father was killed in World War II, an event which caused his mother to become sheltering and overprotective. In school, Pink is berated for writing poetry, and the film makes a strong point saying that schools suppress individuality, and turn children into mindless drones meant for military service. Pink eventually marries a beautiful woman, but while he is away on tour, she cheats on him with a political activist. This causes Pink to slip into depression and he starts to use drugs and groupies. After one concert he takes a groupie back to his hotel room but in his inebriation he trashes the room and frightens the girl. After the girl flees, he slouches in front of the television and passes out. He is saved by his manager (Bob Hoskins!) and as he is revived he imagines himself as a neo-nazi and his concert is a neo-nazi rally. He then passes judgement on himself (The Trial, my favorite song from the album, shown here disturbing as all hell). In the judgement Pink is told to tear down the wall, a metaphor for the alienation of celebrity.

       The music used is center stage in this movie. Unlike other rock operas, there is almost no spoken dialogue whatsoever, instead the story is told entirely though the songs and their accompanying visuals. Geldof is believable in the lead role, I honestly thought he was Roger Waters until the ending credits rolled. The animation sequences by Gerald Scarfe are trippy, one in particular shows Pink's enmity towards his ex-wife with a sequence of two flowers, one so gynecological it would make Georgia O'Keefe blush. The flowers have sex, and the female flower turns into a fanged beast. While there are many messages in this film, anti-war and anti-instiutionalism, the main focus is on Pink's psychological issues. The entire film is told in sequences flashing backwards and forwards, centering on an adult Pink in a drug induced stupor in his hotel room. This suggests that the other scenes are Pink remembering his past and reflecting on them through various hallucinations, such that the film more or less takes place in real time. If you love Pink Floyd's music, especially The Wall, then this movie is a must-see.