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‘The King of Luck’ ends SXSW on a rich, warm country note
The 18th annual SXSW Film Conference and Festival closed on a rich, warm country note Saturday night, as self-described Texarkansan Billy Bob Thornton screened his Willie Nelson documentary, “The King of Luck,” at the Paramount Theatre.
The Red Headed Stranger missed the screening (on the road, again), but many notable Nelson friends and family showed up to honor the Texas legend, including Ray Benson, Kinky Friedman, Turk and Christy Pipkin and Congressman Lloyd Doggett. Even late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel, who was spotted around Austin all weekend, attended the closing night film.
Doggett shared a Willie story of his own, and with a nod to a highly publicized private show at the Seaholm Power Plant said, “We’re glad Kanye West is performing here tonight, but Austin will always be Willie Nelson.” Nelson’s long-time friend then introduced the quick-witted filmmaker, who joked that he was a little nervous talking from the stage, as it was the first time he had been in Austin and not been intoxicated. By way of introduction, Thornton said that while some at the Paramount were in the movie, “in a way, all of you are.”
Author and humorist Friedman encapsulates the film’s theme early in the movie, explaining that Willie Nelson is not a celebrity or a star, but a folk hero. Indeed, Thornton’s movie is an unabashed love letter to the prolific singer-songwriter, but if anyone deserved such treatment it is the man born in Abbott, Texas, whom Kris Kristofferson calls “one of a kind” and Ray Price names “an institution.”
“The King of Luck” eschews the traditional linear approach to bio-docs wherein the audience is subjected to a chronological tale of the subject from birth to superstardom. Instead, Thornton breaks his movie into sections (The Band, The Family, Friends, etc.), allowing those who know Nelson best to share tales of the musician’s kindness and greatness. The anecdotal style leaves some holes in the narrative, but one assumes by now audiences are quite familiar with Nelson’s timeline.
Presented in black and white, which lends the film a timeless aesthetic, the movie lensed by Afshin Shahidi utilizes a treasure trove of historic video footage and still photographs to complement the stories shared by friends and family. And what stories they are - decades of tales from the road and back home, colored with humor, heartache and a little bit of hell raising.
While the movie offers some perspective on the unique musical legacy of the Texas troubadour, the lasting portrait left by the film is of a socially conscious man dedicated to a life of authenticity and a friend of undying loyalty. Of all the stories of hit songs, wild nights, endless laughs and devoted fans, Longhorn legend Darrel Royal’s words resonate the most.
“He has a great memory when it comes to friends,” coach Darrel Royal says Nelson.
Nelson has said of the small Western ‘town’ he built on his ranch, that you’re either in Luck or you’re out of Luck. Thornton’s movie impresses upon audiences that we have all been lucky to be part of an extended family helmed by a kind and soulful patriarch blessed with excessive talent and an equal heart.
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