The best movies make you feel Y.O.L.O. in all caps and this was certainly true of “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” written and directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. I’m sure I am not the only person who left the documentary saying, “who knew?” in just how prolific Linda Ronstadt has been, achieving hits simultaneously on the country, pop and R&B charts, not to mention mastering opera and a Spanish mariachi music album! I mean, really? Is she human? Amazing!!
Epstein and Friedman previously teamed up on Howl, Celluloid Closet and most recently on an Oscar nominated short documentary called End Game. Epstein is a two time Oscar doc winner for The Times of Harvey Milk and Common Threads: Stories From the Quilt.
While the doc category is getting pret-ty (Larry David call back) jammed packed for possible Oscar contenders, The Sound of My Voice has to be right up there. For me it’s a dead even tie between this and Ask Dr. Ruth, each equally thrilling and moving.
While some lame-o’s might whine that this was typical chronological story telling with video footage doing most of the narrative work, I contest this criticism with two pieces of defense. First, her prowess as a singer is so remarkable, writing over her talent would be ludicrous. Second, saving a display of her present condition until the very end packs the best evocative punch.
I’ll be rooting for this documentary come Oscar time for sure!! And to my singer son, Liam Enright, may I say sing as much as you possibly can with all the passion you possess. Time is of the essence!
