Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man (2005)

70% of critics liked it
(74 reviews)
39% of users liked it
(20,551 ratings)

Leonard Cohen is widely regarded as one of the finest and most influential poets and songwriters of his generation, a writer whose artful mélange of love, eros, and despair has earned him a passionate international following and the respect and admiration of artists ranging from R.E.M. to Johnny… More Leonard Cohen is widely regarded as one of the finest and most influential poets and songwriters of his generation, a writer whose artful mélange of love, eros, and despair has earned him a passionate international following and the respect and admiration of artists ranging from R.E.M. to Johnny Cash. In 2005, music producer Hal Wilner staged an all-star tribute concert in Australia in which a handful of major artists offered their interpretations of Cohen's songs, including Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, Rufus Wainwright, Beth Orton, Kate and Anna Mcgarrigle, and many more. Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man includes highlights from this concert and thoughts on Cohen and his work from the participants as well as an extensive interview with Leonard Cohen himself as he talks in detail about his life and his art. The film also includes a special performance of "Tower of Song," in which Cohen is accompanied by U2. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 43 min.
Directed By: Lian Lunson
Genres: Musical & Performing Arts, Documentary

In Theaters: Jul 14, 2006 Limited
On DVD: Nov 14, 2006
Studio: Lionsgate

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
It's not a deep documentary. We learn precious little about the real man underneath his sharp-dressed pose.
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
I'm Your Man may be as close as we'll ever get to Cohen on film.
Bruce Newman, San Jose Mercury News
I'm Your Man never quite gets its man in a coherent frame, but for all its zigs and zags outside the lines, the portrait of Cohen that emerges is a fascinating one.
Kyle Lawson, Arizona Republic
An odd but enjoyable concoction of biography, music commentary and concert.
Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle
In the end, it's Cohen's songs that are what this loving musical portrait is all about.
Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle
We hardly get to know Cohen from the biographical shorthand melded to a worshipful tribute show in which the Canadian singer-songwriter never even appears.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Filmmaker Lian Lunson uses a 2005 Sydney tribute concert to Leonard Cohen as a home base for her relatively shallow examination of the best folk singer to slit your wrists to.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
Fans of his poetry-like songs whose lyrics conjure imagery of his thoughts and experiences, will revel in this emotion and music-filled tribute.
Sam Toy, Empire Magazine
Hit and miss tribute to the great melancholist.
David Jones, BBC
Cohen is clearly a songwriter's songwriter, and the resulting movie brims with an infectious passion for the man's melodies and sardonic wit. Unfortunately, the performances are interspersed with interview footage that is much less captivating.
Trevor Johnston, Time Out
At various times poet, consort of beautiful women and Zen monk, his biog's intriguing too, all of which makes this doc highly welcome, even if it's at best a partial view.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
A mixed bag of interviews and musical tribute concert performances that range from great to awful.
Jonathan Kiefer, Sacramento News & Review
The fact is, any Leonard Cohen documentary automatically risks inelegance by contrast to its subject's artistic example. But here's the flip side of that coin: Cohen is so good that even an untimely, mediocre movie about him... resonate[s].
Steve Ramos, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Cohen fans -- myself included -- will leave the film's interviews wanting more insight. Moviegoers unfamiliar with Cohen's long career will wonder why he warrants gushing testimonials from U2's Bono.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Despite the missteps during takeoff and landing, the film does prove to be an engaging and beguiling journey with a true original.
Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star
The proof of Cohen's genius is in the music, and Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man drives that genius home with virtually every stanza.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Though a minor documentary and poorly filmed, there's still enough of the wordsmith's music to get over the mess.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
First-time filmmaker Lian Lunson has struck the mother lode here.

Read all 18 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bob S

Loves the Leonard but the movie just weren't all that. Dominated by ho-hum guest artist concert footage.
Rico Z

This documentary on Leonard Cohen is a very good analysis of who this singer/songwriter/poet really is. It showcases many great performances of Cohen's songs by many of today's alternative artists. Some highlights include "If It Be Your Will" by Antony and… More
This documentary on Leonard Cohen is a very good analysis of who this singer/songwriter/poet really is. It showcases many great performances of Cohen's songs by many of today's alternative artists. Some highlights include "If It Be Your Will" by Antony and "Halleluijah" by Rufus and Martha Wainwright; as well as a rendition of "I'm Your Man" at the end of the movie by Leonard Cohen himself (accompanied by U2.) Watch if you like great songwriting and the man behind a great song.
meril l

Fantastic music, though I was expecting more of an emphasis on the music/concert than on Cohen (they interrupted every song with interviews; I wish they could have been separate). Also, there was no sign of Teddy Thompson performing The Future, even though it's on the CD...
William G

Sure, these musicians love the guy, but why and how exactly is he a legend?
Richard F

What a disappointment. A critic wrote a review that went "Moments so beautiful, it brought me to tears." Well, this movie brought me to tears all right, I was bored to tears that is. Is this a documentary? Or a concert movie? Half of this movie, no exaggeration, are… More
What a disappointment. A critic wrote a review that went "Moments so beautiful, it brought me to tears." Well, this movie brought me to tears all right, I was bored to tears that is. Is this a documentary? Or a concert movie? Half of this movie, no exaggeration, are close-ups of second rate (with the exception of U2) performers defiling Cohen's songs. The other half is old footage, new footage made to feel old (mostly Cohen walking about his home) and Bono going on and on about how he worships Cohen. There were a bits of pieces of clips of Cohen telling some stories, but the style is very plain. Don't get me wrong, I love Cohen, but I didn't learn much about Cohen through this experience. I learned much more about him by spending 5 minutes on the Internet (youtube, wikipedia, etc). There is a lot of interesting things to say about Cohen, but this movie fails to convey any of these. For instance, some of his best songs, "Bird on a Wire" and "Famous Blue Raincoat" (which aren't even mentioned here) were considered "unfinished" by Cohen. I would have liked to seen some of these interesting nuances examined, and I would liked to have heard Cohen's original versions sung by him as part of, shall I say it, a score to the movie. And there is plenty of old concert footage, from when Cohen was in his prime, that could have been included in a chronological telling of his life and career. But this movie has no direction, little organization, and to say that this movie does an injustice to Cohen is an understatement.