From left, Michael White, Mick Williams and Paul Richards in the band “Heavy Load.”The middle-aged British garage-punk cover band Heavy Load has members with disabilities and a documentary called "Heavy Load: A Film about Happiness" will air on IFC tonight.
A review in the NY Times June 23 says the documentary "succeeds, thanks to the resilient dignity of its subjects."
Heavy Load's five members come from from around Lewes, a town near England’s southern coast; three members have learning disabilities and two members are support workers — Mick Williams, its lead guitarist, and Paul Richards, its bassist — as well as the vocalist Simon Barker, the rhythm guitarist Jimmy Nichols and the drummer Michael White, who has Down syndrome.
The NY Times says that "shot over two years, the film depicts how what began as an exercise between the understated Mr. Williams and the spirited Mr. Nichols evolves into an ensemble that moves from concerts for disabled audiences to pub gigs and ultimately an appearance at the Wychwood Music Festival in Gloucestershire. The band also establishes the Stay Up Late campaign, based on one of its songs, which encourages the disabled to defy caregivers and enjoy pub life beyond the hour they are customarily brought home."
Like most documentaries, a bit of drama ensues Williams, after years with the group, relocates to France with his family. White, the drummer, dreams of finding a girlfriend and going solo but those dreams don't materialize. He draws support from Barker when his goals aren't reached.
The NY Times did have some criticism of film's director: "The self-pity and earnestness of the film’s director, Jerry Rothwell, who repeatedly inserts himself, almost undoes the picture. An opening intertitle announces 'A film about happiness.' Oh, please. It’s about struggle, the efforts of an ensemble wrestling with artistic obstacles as well as biological ones. It’s also a portrait of British band life: playing in smoky pubs and studios and at outdoor concerts and hustling tracks to a music publisher. And it is a portrait of a nation with social services and a public so compassionate it makes our own look heartless."
The film screened to an audience at NYC's disTHIS! film series on June 18 and band members were on hand for a Q&A afterwards. You can see the film's trailer on the disTHIS! Web site.
