Directors :Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel
In 1972, Ziggy Stardust was sent down from space to save the world. Now we have a new prophet, Montero Lamar Hill, more commonly known by his stage name, Lil Nas X. Ziggy, David Bowie’s alter ego, was androgynous and bisexual; Montero is less androgynous, even when he wears a short tartan skirt, but he’s decidedly queer. And perhaps even more of a superstar than Ziggy. But this new film about Lil Nas X’s first tour, unironically entitled Long Live Montero, tells us little about the man off the stage.
After setting the world alight in 2018 with Old Town Road, a country-inspired rap which spent a record-breaking 19 weeks at No. 1 on the American Billboard charts, Lil Nas X came out as a gay man. While he received some backlash from both country and hip-hop quarters, his announcement has never hindered his career. As this film, directed by Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel, proves, he has fans all across the United States who fill the theatres on his tour.
But outside the concert hall in Boston, some right-wing protestors hassle Lil Nas X’s fans as they queue at the entrance. One man proclaims that listening to the music inside will cause the fans to start drinking and smoking before they go to hell. Lil Nas X graciously sends the demonstrators pizza while the fans chant “Fuck that shit.” Lil Nas X takes it all in his stride.
Coming out as a black man in the 21st century is still a revolutionary act and the Georgian star unapologetically embraces his queerness on stage during his tour: glitter and sequins, butterfly wings, a life-sized metallic horse and a troupe of sexy young black male dancers. After the song, Thats [sic] What I Want, about the desire for a male lover, Lil Nas X kisses one of the dancers in silhouette behind the theatre’s curtains. The audience cheers.
However, while the concert footage is filmed with vibrant detail, the interviews with Lil Nas X as he lies on his bed or as he drives his car are less inspiring. We don’t really get to know him at all. He briefly tells the story of coming out to his dad who asked him if he was being tempted by the Devil, but the film’s directors are eager not to repeat a coming out narrative that has been seen many times before. And anyway, his father along with his brothers and stepmother are fiercely supportive of Lil Nas X, going to his concerts, wearing his merch.
Rather than providing a biography of the 25-year-old, the directors offer a snapshot of how Lil Nas X is now. This means that there is little movement during the film’s 90 minutes. He is the same at the start of the film as he is at the end. It begins with Lil Nas X worrying that his tour won’t be a success, but the viewer knows that, of course, it will be. The nearest we get to actual drama is when he vomits before his last show. Otherwise, the film is rather one-note with lots of talking heads discussing the importance of being one’s true self or one’s best self. It doesn’t get any deeper.
Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero is available to rent or own on digital platforms now.
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