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I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Cowboy Pictures


9.5

based on 24 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 4 votes
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MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Leroy Bach, Glenn Kotche, and Tony Margherita

Sam Jones documents a turbulent chapter in the history of alt-country turned experimental rock band Wilco. The film shows the conflict that arises when the band creates an artistic and challenging record while signed to a record company in the midst of a giant corporate takeover. (Cowboy Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Musical
DIRECTED BY:	Sam Jones
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: April 1, 2003 Video: April 1, 2003 Theatrical: July 26, 2002
RUNNING TIME:	92 minutes, B/W
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

A superb portrait of a band and an industry in flux.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

In the last two decades rock documentaries have become ubiquitous on TV but marginalized as cinema; this is the rare exception that earns its place on the big screen.

Philadelphia Inquirer Dan DeLuca

Tells Wilco's story so well that you'll leave the theater thinking the album is a work of genius.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

This picture is jagged and exciting; it tells several plots imperfectly, yet makes them add up to a great American story about integrity challenged and triumphant.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

It testifies to art's vitality and endurance, despite its marketers' -- and sometimes even its makers' -- efforts to the contrary.

The New York Times Dave Kehr

A photographer for magazines like Vanity Fair and GQ, as well as a veteran director of commercials, Mr. Jones brings a trained eye to this, his first documentary. The low gray skies of Chicago prove once again to be a boon to photography, and the city has seldom looked better than it does here, in its chilly, minimalist beauty.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

An exciting and involving rock music doc, a smart and satisfying look inside that tumultuous world.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

Much to cheer here, from its treasure trove of early and alternate versions of songs to the triumphant finale.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

A modest vérité portrait of Wilco, the engagingly melodious, deeply unglam alt-folk rockers.

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

This is a rare gem tripped over while making a run-of-the-mill rockumentary about a band's new album.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White

The film perpetuates a self-congratulatory vision of the record's worth, when an opposing point of view would have provided a more balanced perspective.

Washington Post Richard Harrington

The unexpected drama captured puts I Am Trying to Break Your Heart in the good company, if not quite the league, of "Let It Be" and "Gimme Shelter."

TV Guide Staff (Not credited)

Shot in grainy black and white, the film features tons of entertaining footage of the band in the studio as well as an enlightening commentary from music critics Greg Kot and David Frick.

Film Threat Tim Merrill

In 30 years’ time it might seem as incisive a document of its time as, say, “Don’t Look Back” or “Gimme Shelter.” As a study of how the current corporate idiocy impacts one man’s art, it’s priceless.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

The concert footage is stirring, the recording sessions are intriguing, and -- on the way to striking a blow for artistic integrity -- this quality band may pick up new admirers.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

May be anticorporate, it's by no means hype-free.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

This is compelling stuff, but Jones seems almost pathologically averse to upstaging the songs themselves.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

To love Wilco is to believe in a certain rustic intelligence about popular music (and about yourself) and to embrace the Tweedy worldview that you need sarcasm and vagueness to cope with the pitfalls of sincerity.

New Times (L.A.) Gregory Weinkauf

what we've got here is a little propaganda film. A mild one, certainly, but the cliché of DIY hopefuls (band) versus the Big Machine (music industry) foments the same tedious struggle of art versus commerce.

San Francisco Chronicle James Sullivan

Business intrudes on art.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

A slightly dull film by photographer Sam Jones.

Village Voice Jessica Winter

Jones's documentary, named for the opening song on Foxtrot, is most effective as a poison-pen missive to Corporate Rock.

LA Weekly John Patterson

As Tweedy talks about canning his stockbroker and repairing his pool, you yearn for a few airborne TV sets or nude groupies on the nod to liven things up. And what do we get? Diet Coke! Tonight is definitely not the night.

Variety Robert Koehler

May leave itself open to charges of being little more than a promo feature posing as a documentary, but pic nevertheless is a warts-and-all look at a group of musicians -- and the music biz -- likely to make most record label flacks flinch.

The average user rating for this movie is 9.5 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Brian H gave it a10:
I love this DVD but I'm a hardcore fan and don't expect everyone to dig it. Notice how the East and West Coast Papers have such a disdain for this amazing band. Could it be that Wilco is from the Midwest. Aren't these the same papers and reviewers who cheer for shit like Hillary Duff or Gwen Stefani or any other musician who is more entertainer than artist. I love me some Gwen sometimes, don't get me wrong. But don't fuck with Wilco just because they are normal people who drink Diet Coke.

Ben W. gave it a 9:
This is a fantastically put together documentary, allowing a us to look inside one of the most beautiful and mysteriously conceived albums. The only criticism I would have is that there is a noticeable lack of serious footage that makes the second half of the documentary slightly disjuncted like members leaving the band. In essence it is a moving story about a band who isn't as mysterious as one might like to think. This is a beautiful portrait of Wilco and is a must have for fans, but is also enjoyable to the uninitiated. The bonus disc is also fantastic with new live songs and some great footage of the band.

M. Johnson gave it a 9:
I am Trying... is a great film visually and musically- highly recommended for Wilco enthusiasts and music enthusiasts in general. And, by the way, Mr. LA Weekly, Tweedy's discussion of pools and stockbrokers was a joke. You may be looking for nude groupies in a music documentary, but I'll take 'I am Trying to Break Your Heart's' real characters and ethereal qualities over that any day.

Adam S. gave it a 10:
In a time of dumb down screenplays and commercialized music, this is a perfect collaberation between film and music. It's a movie about capatalism, commercialism, artistic freedom, and lost friendships. I LOVED this movie!

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I Am Trying to Break Your Heart Cowboy Pictures

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Cowboy Pictures