He's your man

I wasn't a huge fan of the tribute concert film "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man," even though I adore Cohen and most of the featured performers. The camera needed to back away from its extreme closeups and lose the cheesy production quirks (an echo effect on the word "Suzanne"? Give me a break). And along with fellow moviegoers, I had to stifle giggles when Bono and the Edge appeared for hyperbolic commentary that cast Cohen in a biblical light.

But I left the theater feeling riveted and almost overwhelmed by Antony Hegarty's performance of "If It Be Your Will." Away from his piano and backing band (the Johnsons), Antony (above) fidgeted his way through six minutes of the most hair-raising music I've heard in a while. He looked uncomfortable, as if the song's sentiments were too much for him to sing; it was almost too much emotion for this listener, too.

If you're not sure about seeing the film in theaters, I say save yourself the $10 ticket stub and download a few of the songs from the soundtrack, which came out today. If you don't buy the whole album, may I kindly suggest some highlights:

Antony, "If It Be Your Will"
Martha Wainwright, "Tower of Song"
Jarvis Cocker, "I Can't Forget"
Beth Orton, "Sisters of Mercy"
Teddy Thompson, "Tonight Will Be Fine"
Rufus Wainwright, "Chelsea Hotel No. 2"
Nick Cave, "Suzanne"
Laurie Anderson, "The Guests" (not featured in the film)