Ebony & Ivory

Don’t be fooled by the synopsis. This new film from director Jim Hosking (The Greasy Strangler) may appear to be about Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and the making of their smash hit single ‘Ebony And Ivory’, but nothing about this film is in perfect harmony. No, this is discordant, deadpan, dirt-cheap, and drawn out at such a deliberate pace that watching it feels like you’re coming to from some heavy dental surgery.

In his last film, An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn, Hosking invited familiar faces such as Aubrey Plaza and Jemaine Clement into his wacky world. Here he returns to working instead with his reliable roster of oddballs, who are far better at cooking up an offbeat, alien vibe. Ebony & Ivory is essentially a dramatic two-hander, filled with bizarre diversions and endlessly repetitive nonsense as Paul (Sky Elobar) and Stevie (Gil Gex) get stoned, go skinny-dipping in the sea, muck around on the farm, bicker about vegetarian ready meals, and do seemingly anything other than write music.

There’s undeniable vision behind the madness.

At times, it’s like Dr. Seuss’ Waiting For Godot: an absurd, patience-testing exploration of ego and eccentric character dynamics that thrills in making the English language sound strange. A lengthy, labyrinthine exchange concerning the phrase “doobie woobie”, for example, is a masterclass in mad, maddening anti-comedy.

It’s a real head trip, but there’s undeniable vision behind the madness. From the wobbly accents and the drab cottage interiors to the drooping prosthetic members and unholy animal puppets, everything here adds up to an immersive, idiosyncratic filmmaking style that falls somewhere between a daft prank and a deconstruction of the very idea of the music biopic. In the era of prestige Oscar bait, canonical box sets and definitive documentaries, Hosking brings some welcome weirdness to how we tackle our totemic titans of pop.