Almost Famous

The 2000 film “Almost Famous” is the paramount story of lost innocence. From the soundtrack to subtle plot shifts, Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical film shows how someone’s outlook on life can completely change over a period of less than a year. The main character, William Miller, a 15 year old high school senior from San Diego, is a music fanatic who is given the opportunity to write a piece for Rolling Stone Magazine about a band of his choice. He decides to follow the up-and-coming group Stillwater. On the surface, they are a blue-collar band who plays solely for the fans and isn’t in it for the money. But as the plot develops, everyone’s true colors show.
Cameron Crowe’s character development is one of the script’s strongest qualities. William’s mother, Elaine, played by Frances McDormand, is an immensely overprotective college professor with a sixth sense for finding and removing whatever she deems unwholesome in her children’s lives. While William’s sister, Anita, played by Zooey Deschanel, is a free spirit who clashes with her mother on nearly everything. Also, she is the one who sparked William’s interest in rock n’ roll.
The constant influences from both sides in the early part of the film lay a strong foundation for William’s personality in the remainder of the movie. The balance that Crowe exhibits in William is incredibly detailed. The respect and fear for authority instilled from his mother mesh seamlessly with the musical passion and curiosity that his sister gave him. These qualities become more and more interlocked as William’s character develops from a starry-eyed fan to a quasi-cynical rock critic.
The film’s soundtrack is just as important to the story as the script itself. The songs not only enhance the scenes, but in several cases, encapsulate them entirely. The emotions in the scene, whatever the may be, are given a voice through the music. Since the film is based on the idea of music in general, the soundtrack is that much more important. One of the more subtle, yet equally important elements of the movie is the simultaneous maturity of the soundtrack along with the characters. “The Chipmunk Song” by the animated group The Chipmunks accompanies the opening credits. But as the story and William’s music taste evolves, the audience is hit with classic rock anthems one after another, such as Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile,” Led Zeppelin’s “Misty Mountain Hop,” and Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer.” Very few soundtracks have been able to characterize their entire movie so completely as this one. It’s almost as though it’s a soundtrack being played with a movie in the background, not vice versa.
Only a handful of films made in the last 25 years, let alone the last 10, use music and vivid character development to tell as story as well as “Almost Famous.” This movie not only shows the complexities of separating what is your job and what is your passion, but it will serve as the guidebook for those looking to find a way to balance the two.