Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

I had the opportunity to either watch Killers of the Flower Moon or this, and honestly, I've been so down lately the thought of going to watch a hard hitting epic didn't bring me joy. So yeah, I opted to go for a film that required no real effort to engage with.

I wouldn't call myself a swifty, but I enjoy her music, have listened to each album since I listened to Folklore. It's crazy how she is able to fill a three and a half hour long concert with hit after hit, and even someone who doesn't listen to her music would know the songs.

The film just proved, and cemented in my mind, how skilled of a performer Swift is. The stamina it takes to be performing for that long and make no mistakes is an achievement seldom are able to perform. I think it's clear from the film how much of a theatrical performer Swift is. When you are performing to stadiums of mind numbing numbers, she is clearly making sure every single person in the stadium is feeling her presence. I will say that sometimes this clearly doesn't necessarily translate perfectly when she is filmed so close up, but I also think this is where her charm lies. She is so unabashedly enthused at her performance, it's like she is emanating joy. If you let yourself be moved by her performance, it's hard not to have a smile on your face.

The sheer undertaking of filming a monumental concert like this and only having two takes to do so is so scary. However, credit to the massive crew who worked on this as it feels like they got every single shot they needed. What's even more impressive is how Swift is able to not only perform to a stadium, but also perform to the cameras, which are different from the ones normally used. The coordination required for such a complex setup, and for the length of time of the concert, it really is so impressive this turned out how it did. Also shout out to the impeccable sound design, to have a concert so well balanced must've taken so much work.

I strangely found myself enjoying the moments when it was just Taylor on stage. I found this surprising as you would think she would be drowned out by the stadium she's performing to, but the converse is actually true, she feels like a magnet whenever she's on stage. In a sea of thousands of people, she seemed so natural. What I found more jarring was sadly when more people accompanied her on stage.

I think the Fearless section really worked, and any time she shared the stage with the band. It just felt more natural, and she had a good back and forth with the band. Whenever the dancers accompanied her, it just felt very incoherent and messy. The only section which felt good was Midnights, but the rest of the time the dancers were on stage I don't think it made the experience better. There were also a few sloppy edits, but I mean that is a small critique for a film that I really enjoyed, folklore era was simply phenomenal