David Chasewill forever be synonymous withThe Sopranos. As the creator of the most influential television series of the last 30 years, Chase’s legacy shines brightly throughout pop culture in the 21st century. Notably, the TV landscape saw a boom in prestige cable dramas that would never have existed without his creation. Yet, because of his innate iconoclast streak as an artist, he refuses torest on the laurels of the HBO drama. Not long ago, it was announced that Chase andSopranoswriting alumTerence Wintersigned a deal with New Lineto direct and write a new horror film.Chase still has his creative juices flowing, even for projects outsideThe Sopranosuniverse. Case in point, look no further than his direct follow-up to his hit TV series,Not Fade Away, his lone feature film as a director, which presents a more sentimental and reflective side to Chase and Tony Soprano himself,James Gandolfini.
Not Fade Away
Set in suburban New Jersey in the 1960s, a group of friends form a rock band and try to make it big.
David Chase Took a Left Turn After ‘The Sopranos’ With ‘Not Fade Away’
They said your protagonist shouldn’t be an antagonist figure. They definitely said your protagonist should not kill anyone on screen. They never imagined that ambitious cinematic storytelling would be anywhere near the small screen. David Chaserejected all conventions of serial dramatic television.The Sopranos, which ran for seven seasons from 1999-2007,sparked a revolution of prestige dramas about thorny protagonists known as anti-heroes.Suddenly, esteemed dramas likeMad MenandBreaking Badwere the norm for a mass audience. Anchoring these groundbreaking feats was a towering performance by James Gandolfinias the powerful but emotionally fractured New Jersey mob bosswho balances his blood family, crime family, and psychological complexities. Following the controversial conclusion ofThe Sopranos, Chase and Gandolfini could’ve pursued any project with complete autonomy, but, as curious and enigmatic artists, they reconvened for a creative left turn on the big screen.
In 2012,five years after the screen faded to black on Tony’s life, Chase returned as the writer-director ofNot Fade Away, another story set in New Jersey. This time, Chase chronicles the lives of a group of adolescent friends in the 1960s who formed a rock band and aspire to great success. The two main friends, Doug (John Magaro) and Gene (Jack Huston), are inspired by the newly arrived British Invasion in America, notably the revolutionary sounds ofThe BeatlesandThe Rolling Stones. Doug’s hairstyle is evocative ofBob Dylan’s, whose soulful folk tunes exploded in popularity in America during this time. Watching over this coming-of-age fantasy is Pat (Gandolfini), Doug’s father, who badgers his son for his reckless idealism. To his father’s dismay, Doug pursues music full-time with Gene and Wells (Will Brill). Along the way, they experience the brutal hardships of the industry, buttheir passion fuels them to overcome the obstaclesand head into the abyss that is the intricate music industry.
‘Not Fade Away’ Chronicles the Rise of Rock and Roll in the 1960s With a Coming-of-Age Story
LikeThe Sopranos,Not Fade Awayis hardly about one defined subject.The former was not just a mob saga, but also a story about soulless capitalism, American angst in a post-9/11 world, and the stark cultural and generational divides between characters. With Chase’s feature film, he deploys his passion for classic rock as a vessel to comment on his emotional and storytelling fascinations previously seen inThe Sopranos. Culture shock and music go hand-in-hand, so it’s no surprise that the music listened to and played by Doug and Gene represents the radical generational divide that emanated during the 1960s.Not Fade Away, perhaps too literally and ham-fisted in instances, embodies the dynamic evolution of rock and roll through the behavioral tendencies of its characters. The film’s eclectic soundtrack, which tracks the arc of the genre fromBo Diddleyto theSex Pistols, was curated by music supervisorSteven Van Zandt, who served as the proverbial consigliere toBruce Springsteenin the E-Street Band andplayed Tony Soprano’s trusted aide, Silvio Dante, on HBO.
While celebrated for its black comedy,The Sopranoswasanything but a cheerful portrayal of organized crime.Their work was not chivalrous, and Tony’s line of work only enhanced the bleak worldview of the show. Compared toThe Sopranos' mafia media cousins,The GodfatherandGoodfellas, the series' contemporary setting highlights the savagery of the underworld by having the family’s reprehensible actions collide with our current habitat. With the ’60s setting inNot Fade Away, Chasenaturally infuses the era of his upbringing with romanticism.Despite their debauchery and clouded outlook on reality, he identifies with the youths in his film. “I wanted to make a movie for all of us who wanted to be rock stars and didn’t,“Chase told The New York Times in 2012.In his youth, Chase had dreams of becoming a drummer, confirming the autobiographical roots of the film. Aided by a grounded scope,Not Fade Awaydisregards the typical hero’s journey of a hopeful musician rising from nothing on their way to fame and fortune. Watching the film, we understand that Doug, Gene, and Wells won’t make it big, but we admire their drive and ambition amid social and political turbulence.
James Gandolfini Gives a Touching Performance as an Old-School Father in ‘Not Fade Away’
If anyone was glad thatThe Sopranosfinally ended, it was its lead star, James Gandolfini. Behind the scenes, Gandolfini was mild-mannered and gentle, and playing a vicious and violent figure in Tony Soprano was a grating exercise. “The character has been with me for so long,“he said after wrapping up the series, “it’s a relief to let him go.” Gandolfini was rewarded for his emotionally taxing work by receiving a role from Chase thatutilizes his prodigious aura while conveying his affectionate side simultaneously.Released a year before his sudden passing, Gandolfini’s touching performanceNot Fade Awayleaves a lasting image for audiences. Gandolfini’s Pat distills Chase’s interests in the American Dream and cultural clashes. Pat is an old-school working-class first-generation Italian immigrantunafraid to make crude remarks. He has a stubborn worldview and a clearly defined idea of success. He wishes that he could proverbially and physically smack his son’s lofty dreams of being a rock star. Furthermore, he doesn’t want to hear anything negative about U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He suspects that his son is swept up by the social upheaval of the times,and through his tough love, he hopes to sustain order in his coming-of-age.
The gravitas that Gandolfini lends Pat is equally matched by his humanity and nuance. Gandolfini, who alsoexpressed gracious sympathy alongsideJulia Louis-DreyfussinEnough Said, is hard-nosed to a point. Chase’s background, and his track record as a rule-breaking artist, may identify with the rock and roll rebellion of the youths, but his age empathizes with Pat. He implores Doug to follow important advice, citing that success boils down to “10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration.” He won’t appreciate this tip at the moment, but through the band’s hardships with producers, concert venues, and managing egos, Doug will comprehend the fortitude required to satisfy one’s ambitions. Later in the film, Pat, who is revealed to be suffering from cancer, mellows on his son. The overbearing father’s shift into accepting Doug’s aspirations would have been an awkward transition in storytelling if not forGandolfini’s immaculate calibration to this role.
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Tony Soprano? Forget about it!
The dedicated viewers ofThe Sopranoswho loathed the dream sequences and anti-climaxesare likely to be disappointed by David Chase’s follow-up to his iconic series, asNot Fade Away, for better or worse,deals with abstract reflections on a dynamic period in American history.Chase takes an unbiased approach to music as a vessel for human growth and exploration. He recognizes its beauty, but he also demonstrates how it can disappoint those with lofty dreams. For Chase, the creator of one of the finest television shows in history, his dreams ultimately panned out. For others, notably the subjects inNot Fade Away, they do, indeed, fade away.However, aspirations never die.They just move on to the next generation of hopeful idealists.
Not Fade Awayis available to rent or buy on Prime Video in the U.S.
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