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timearnshaw
Reviews
Annie Nightingale: Bird on the Wireless (2011)
A fine portrait
Yes, she's an old lady now, in her seventies, and Brook's unflinching portrait shows her as she is, wrinkles and all. Far from being stuck in her pioneering Swinging Lodon heyday, Ms Nightingale is passionate about new music, championing upcoming artists in dubstep and grime. She's allowed to tell her own story here - no tiresome cutaways to an interviewer doing "noddies", and no presenter's voice-over. Brook's directorial modesty means her vitality comes across undiluted - she never wallows in nostalgia. Key figures from her long history speak for her, and contemporary clips are used for context. The film has a nicely textured look, and is altogether a loving and skilled portrait of someone who rarely gets the credit she deserves. Anyone interested in how pop music has been broadcast since the 'sixties will find this fascinating stuff.