Neil Peart: No One's Disciple

I had no idea that this film was in the works, much less already out there.  On YouTube, no less.  Apparently just weeks after its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.  A tribute to the late Neil Peart, drummer for the band Rush for over forty years.  Maestro.  Regularly and deservedly ranked as one of the world's best.  They called him the Professor for good reason.  Directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn, who gave us BEYOND THE LIGHTED STAGE, return with another top notch, beautifully produced documentary for Rush obsessives like yours truly.  This year's NEIL PEART: NO ONE'S DISCIPLE is another for the Pantheon.

Those familiar with the earlier film will see some repeat clips.  They may (and have) complain that this film doesn't tell us anything we don't already know.  Maybe true.  But this isn't about information giving.  We know the timeline, from Neil's early days in Canada to his premature death from brain cancer in 2020.  The triumphs, the crushing losses.  I would imagine many viewers have read his celebrated first person account tomes. 

Rush bandmates Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson are seen at the opening, pouring Macallan for their departed colleague and friend.  "Two fat fingers" worth in the glass.  They will later be joined by some of Neil's peers.  Monster drummers in their own right.  Chad Smith of The Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Danny Carey of Tool.  Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree and King Crimson.  And Stewart Copeland of The Police.  Contemporaries and clearly inspired.  Each take on Mr. Peart's complex fills in various songs.  

Smith absolutely kills it with "Working Man" (which Peart had reworked from John Rutsey as it was recorded prior to Neil's joining the band).  Plays with wild abandon.  Carey gets the toughest songs, "2112 Overture" and "Tom Sawyer"; he briefly stumbles with the time but eventually gets it down.  Harrison reverently charges through "Far Cry".  Copeland's talents are well matched with "New World Man".  He proclaims he will "play it like the Professor!"...and proceeds to play it like Stewart Copeland.   No complaints here.

I loved these segments.  Well into their seventies, Geddy and Alex still know how to tear through these tunes.  The drummers are dedicated, excited, grateful.  To be there and to have known their brother.  Not just for his extreme talent, but for the kind and wise soul that he was. NO ONE'S DISCIPLE features several old friends who echo these sentiments.  None more than Ged and Lerxt.

I also really liked how Neil's lyrics formed segments of this doc.  A discussion of his aversion to direction contact with fans is discussed as we hear "Limelight".  Heartbreakingly, as "Losin' It" is featured there are discussions of Neil's illness, his difficulty in later years to keep up the pace.  To maintain his tough standards.  There's a clip of him from the 1980s, explaining how crushing it would be to reach such a point.  That hurt.

I ignored my usual misgivings about the "talking head" style of contemporary documentaries, as McFyden and Dunn so skillfully piece it all together.  You may well need to be a Rush fan to appreciate this highly moving film, but the sentiments are strong enough for anyone to admire it.  And the man remains one in a billion.  Another snatched away far too soon.

P.S. - Nice epilogue with Anika Nilles, who has the rather daunting but exciting task of following Neil behind the kit for the new Rush tour.  Godspeed!