Sam Wrench directs Taylor Swift, Paul Sidoti and Karen Chuang in this concert movie covering every album in T-Swift’s 17 year career.

As a casual fan I could have probably done without the deep dives into Folklore and especially Evermore. Keep it poppy and under three hours is my only real note. As a cynical middle aged male I’m surprised I chuckled only a few times at crowd inserts of weepy fans going full meltdown just at being there. Apart from that… truly spectacular. The camerawork in the first 10 minutes is flawless, the clarity of it puts most live action blockbusters of this decade to shame. The staging and lightshow is on another level! Giant Taylors tower over regular sized Taylor like kaiju. I absolutely appreciate why I could never afford to see a production like this live. There’s no sadness or bitterness there… Speaking of which, I would have loved it if the album order was chronological just so we can see Swift mature and become increasingly acidic and paranoid and defiant in her songwriting. She is a stunning creative. The show can’t hide the fact she isn’t a Madonna or even a Kylie in terms of her dance abilities but there’s plenty of strutting, shimmying and swan-like arm motions to keep us going. The quick change costume tricks are like a magic show… the sequin budget must be second only to the electricity bill. Glad I saw this on the big screen. Cemented just how many of Swift’s hit have drilled themselves into my head.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Miss Americana (2020)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/