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This
documentary captures the female country & western group the
Dixie Chicks in performances around the U.S. and London
between the years 2003 and 2006. While performing in 2003,
singer Natalie Maines ignited a maelstrom of controversy and
red-state rage when she declared - from a London stage on the
eve of the Iraqi conflict - that she was ashamed President
George W. Bush was from her home state of Texas. When a
rabidly right-wing group picked up on it, the band found
themselves in the center of controversy regarding the nature
of patriotism, freedom of speech, feminism, and the split
between pro and antiwar Americans. Filmmaker Barbara Kopple
brings us the fly-on-the-wall view of the next three years: we
find Haines and sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire in
dressing rooms, on stage, and in recording studios, bonding
with each other, their families, producer Rick Rubin, and
their supportive manager Simon Renshaw. Through the crises,
they keep their sense of humor and sisterhood, not backing
down from their liberal stance, and turning the backlash into
a triumph. They also make some great music, and the film
includes plenty of riveting, intense footage of the band in
performance onstage and in the studio. Among the faces
appearing in archival footage are President Bush, Bill Maher,
and rabidly right-wing country star Toby Keith. |
