Movie Review- "Fallen Angel: The Outlaw Larry Norman"

I first heard of Larry Norman when I was 7.  Some well meaning producers used his song "(You've Been) Left Behind" for the Apocalypse movie "Thief in the Night".  The whole experience almost literally scared the hell out of me.  

When I rediscovered his music in the early '90s, I set aside old grudges and was willing to forgive him.  At the time, I found his music fairly refreshing.  It was gritty and honest, and most of the time he spoke of hope.  His songs, which were almost 20 years old at the time still rang true to the lives of those following Jesus in a fallen, broken world.  And they were theologically sound (mostly, except for the whole rapture thing).  It was a contrast to most Christian music of that time which was just starting to expand from a musical niche to a full blown industry.  His music occasionally wandered into musical propaganda, but at his creative peaks he surpassed the "Christian singer" label and was recognized as a brilliant songwriter and true artist.  At least, in my humble opinion. 

More than two decades earlier Larry Norman was a true pioneer of Christian music.  His songs reached a generation of new Christians who at the time had very few options in terms of music that spoke to them.  He died in February of 2008 heart failure.

"Fallen Angel: TOLN" is a movie that examines the life of Larry Norman beyond his music and takes a closer look at his life.  My experience of "FA: TOLN" includes a brief  Q and A with the filmmaker and also Larry's son.  

To the fans of Larry Norman's music this film is probably going to be disappointing, if not down right heartbreaking.  In short, it seems Norman had some problems walking the walk and talking the talk.  Interviews by friends and fellow musicians (some of which are my all time favorites) give evidence to the fact that Norman could be self centered, manipulative, egotistical, and full of pride.  In other words, he was an artist.  None of this should come as a shock to anybody who has known anyone that has "artistic leanings".  The film also exposes some of the greater sins of a man who professed to be a follower of Jesus and his teachings.  These include, but are not limited to: adultery, lying, and stealing.  The heartbreaking aspect of "FA: TOLN" indicates that Norman never owned up to any of these, and in fact kept practicing them well into his later years.

The film itself seems to have a definitive agenda.  One can get a feel for said agenda in the opening 2 minutes of the film.  The problem I have with "FA:TOLN" is that as documentary a film should be objective.   Given the nature of the subject, I can understand how difficult that might be.  Apparently, Norman's family objected to the making of the film and did not participate.  Again,  I can understand how difficult that would be to make a film like this completely balanced.  But the language of the film's narrative seems to present the film's agenda.  

Was Larry Norman a man called by God who lost his way?  Was he a crazy man with a gift? Or was he a master manipulator that saw a void that could be filled and used it solely for his own personal gain?  Despite the filmmaker's intention to present all three arguments, the film seems to lean heavily to the third.  Asked about the use of animation during what could have been some fairly poignant exposition about Randy Stonehill's conversion, the director claimed it was used to "break up" the monotony of talking heads and overused photographs.  What gets communicated seemed to be a wink and a nudge to the audience indicating "Can you believe these guys?"  The movie also seems to run out of images in the last few minutes,  displaying photos that seem to have little to do with the audio that is playing.

In the later moments of "FA: TOLN", there are some heartfelt moments given to Randy Stonehill, Terry Taylor, Mike Roe, and a host of others who give credit to Norman for his accomplishments as an artist and songwriter.  It is quite moving to see Stonehill, who was severely wronged by Norman repeatedly, affirm how it was possible for God to use Larry Norman and his songs to communicate the truths of Christ's redeeming work to mankind in spite of Norman's  continued deliberate deceptions. 

If there were any redeeming qualities of Norman's character, "FA:TOLN" does not introduce us to them.  It is a compelling film, one that makes you hope things work out for those involved. The movie also has a killer soundtrack filled with music that holds up decades later.  In addition to Norman's music, Randy Stonehill's music is featured prominently.  I saw this movie with a friend who had no idea who Larry Norman was, or that there was even a "Jesus People movement".  He was inspired to learn more about both.  He also made me feel really, really old.  For me, the movie is worth seeing.  The more people exposed to Norman's music the better.   

I give "Fallen Angel: The Outlaw Larry Norman" 2 and 1/2 out of 5 ponchos.