by Frank Calvillo
The Last Impresario opens with longtime stage and screen producer Michael White sitting on a park bench in sunny Cannes being filmed for a documentary about his life. To most people, the image is simply that of an older gentleman taking a rest and enjoying the sunshine. All of a sudden, the shot is interrupted by an appearance of none other than Mick Jagger, who has stopped by to say hello to his old friend before quickly scurrying away.
Thus begins this unpredictable and wildly outrageous tale of White, one of the most daring and influential producers of his time who is also, as actress Gretta Sacchi describes, “the most famous person you’ve never heard of.”
The Last Impresario chronicles White from his early years to his beginnings in show business, to the boldness as a producer, to the harsh crossroads he found himself at once his era had come to an end. Along the way, the audience is treated to interviews with the likes of Anna Wintour, Kate Moss, John Cleese, John Waters, Naomi Watts, Lorne Michaels, and Yoko Ono, all of whom share stories of one of the most quietly legendary producers ever.
Director Gracie Otto’s film offers enough of a standard biographical portrait to help us get a sense of the kind of sensibilities which carried White throughout both his career and his life, including a childhood spent living in a great many international boarding schools.
There isn’t as much present day footage of White talking bout the past as there could be, owing to the reluctance of the film’s main subject to discuss certain topics, while the ongoing collection of admittedly fun celebrity stories do make the film lose focus from time to time. It doesn’t help either that too much time is spent on the many projects White helped hone rather than having them play side by side against tales of his personal life. Though the story of how he helped originate The Rocky Horror Show before losing all rights to the property is alone worth watching the film for.
Eventually Otter is able to successfully navigate The Last Impresario into a fascinating, if somewhat elegiac, portrait of an intensely private man.
There’s time devoted to White’s love of photographing candids of his famous friends, making him ahead of his time in an era before Instagram. As Wintour observes, White is definitely “an interested observer.” Likewise, White’s penchant for phrase making is on full display with every chapter of the film introduced with another of his remarkable quotes regarding everything from career failures: “No one calls you after a flop. There is nothing to say,” to beauty: “There’s no such thing as a beautiful person unless there’s something inside as well.”
White’s approach to the business echoed the practices of the great producers who gambled with regard to what the times and society were ready for, and as a result he helped to create the zeitgeist in a lot of ways through risky projects such as Waters’ landmark film Polyester and Cleese’s Monty Python series. Though the changing times forced him to stop being an impresario, his youthful outlook, which included an unwavering love of going out, continued. For better or worse, White’s young at heart attitude remained intact, culminating in a stroke as a result of the 18-year-old lifestyle.
In many ways, The Last Impresario is about an individual steadfastly refusing to let go of his former life. As the times change, White is portrayed as a man still believing that he’s 35 and the toast of the town; the eternal party boy who can go until dawn. When Kate Moss is asked, after recalling the many parties and clubs she attended with White, whether or not, she still goes out with him, she replies, “Not anymore. I’ve got a daughter.”
However White defends his lifestyle and sums up his overall philosophy simply and perfectly when he casually muses: “I think while you’re alive, you have to live.”
The Package
There’s a fairly decent making of which details how the documentary came to be, as well as bonus interviews with many of the celebrities featured throughout the film.
The Lowdown
The Last Impresario is a great story of an unheralded producer as well as a searing comment on changing times and embracing life.
