In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon

The title is a bit of a mouthful which complements this three and half-hour documentary on one of the most successful – critical and commercial – songwriters of the 20th century.

That last bit could a trifle mean as the documentary’s structure is built around the recording of Simon’s 2023 album Seven Psalms that saw him have something of a resurgence.

Between the sequences of Simon recording the album at his home in Texas, director Alex Gibney takes us to his birthplace at Queens, New York, his family, early influences, his time in London and meeting his childhood pal Art Garfunkel.

The story is fairly well known but the archive footage and interviews/narration provide great insight into how such a close friendship could turn so sour, relatively quickly. They are candid in that they had different ways of approaching the songs that Paul Simon wrote.

That in the end was the crunch. Art Garfunkel was off exploring other avenues, though reliant on the songs which Simon wrote and which he would not compromise on. To the extent that an album’s worth of Garfunkel’s contributions were scrapped with Simon taking full control of what would have been their new album after the 1981 Central Park concert and reunion tour.

That is a character aspect that comes over in the documentary: Paul Simon’s quiet assertion regarding his music. The Texas sequences allow the viewer to see his methods of composition and arrangement. He accepts input but he’s in charge. He is generous too giving credit to producers Tom Wilson and Roy Halee for their work to key songs and albums.

It’s after the Simon and Garfunkel 1980’s reunion fell apart when arguably his career became more varied and he could experiment with music and other artistic formats. His success allowed him to indulge in filmmaking with One Trick Pony which flopped.

However his appearances on Saturday Night Live kept his profile up as well as the opportunity to work with others outside music.

His marriage to Carrie Fisher, who was coming off Star Wars and now a major star, launched him on to the celebrity treadmill that he found hard to deal with. The marriage failed very quickly. This is all presented with the minimum of fuss overall the film doesn’t linger on Simon’s personal affairs and family.

The controversy over the recording of Graceland in 1985 is tactfully covered. Working with black South African musicians broke the United Nations cultural boycott though it is pointed out that was to stymie the white minority’s access to world culture. The negative effect was that it prevented the rest of the world from hearing and seeing the work of black musicians and artists. Whatever the rights and wrongs, the record was a huge commercial, critical and cultural success opening the doors to those musicians and the ears of those ignorant to their music.

After that the documentary barely covers Simon’s work post Graceland and follow up Rhythm of the Saints. It’s not that he wasn’t productive. There are albums, tours and reunions just on a smaller scale and I’d suggest with less impact than the previous thirty odd years.

Throughout the film and during the recording sessions Simon is candid about his beliefs and philosophy about life and music. This isn’t through hard questions it is simply through observation, letting Simon open-up in his own time. Luckily for the director Simon is comfortable with cameras; they’ve been around him almost his entire life.

That comfort, coupled with Gibney’s documentarist expertise, has enabled him to produce a wonderful carefully balanced film that provides entertainment and some understanding of what makes Paul Simon such an important and influential figure in world music.

In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon will be in UK cinemas for one night on 13 October, with the blu-ray/digital version available from 28 October 2024.