Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour movie offers a thrillingly-detailed visual immersion into the record-breaking, economy-boosting tour that Swift embarked on earlier this year, recreating the experience in its entirety.
As someone who attended Swift’s phenomenal Eras Tour in July, I had low expectations for this movie. While I had heard great reviews, I was unsure if the movie would be able to live up to the real thing.
I was wrong. The movie was every bit as good as the concert, if not better.
The film was derived from Swift’s performance at SoFi stadium in Inglewood, California in August. Two hours and 48 minutes seems like an incredibly long time to watch a movie featuring only one person singing, and I admit, I thought I would get bored about halfway through. However, Swift’s production did not disappoint, and falling asleep never once crossed my mind. Her performance was breathtaking, with quick transitions that kept my short attention span focused the whole time.
When I attended the concert in July, my seat was far away from the stage. Swift was no more than a tiny figure in the distance, and it was impossible to identify the small details of the show. As I learned from the movie, those small details are what gave the tour so much personality. The movie displayed everything onstage with striking clarity. I was able to appreciate Swift’s work even more seeing how detailed her choreography and special effects were, as well as the heart and soul she put into her show. I also appreciated the dancers and backup singers more, because their coordinated and intricate work was hard to take in during the in-person show.
As for the theater atmosphere, it was less high energy than I had expected, at least in comparison with the fiery passion on display at the in-person show. I had heard that the movie was intended to be experienced as a concert, with singing and dancing. There wasn’t much of that at my show, besides people singing so quietly that only they could hear. While the lack of energy might have disappointed some people, I feel that it would have been a nuisance for viewers to try to watch the film amid chaotic singing and dancing.
I think that the sentiment behind the movie demonstrates Swift’s commitment to making her content accessible to the largest community possible. My in-person tickets were $140 after waiting in the Ticketmaster queue for hours. I can only imagine how much the price of tickets went up to — $300, or even $1000? Some people just cannot pay that much for a concert. I think it’s great that Swift created a way for fans to get an amazing view of her concert for much less money.
Nothing was left out of the movie. I heard every prolonged cheer of the crowd, saw every dance move and laughed at every witty comment Swift made in between tracks. The movie wasn’t just Swift playing all the songs from her setlist — it was an accessible concert experience, and I’m so grateful that I got to see her epic performance from the best possible viewpoint.
