Change Your Image
smooneyh
Reviews
Have You Got It Yet? The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd (2023)
Disappointing
Disappointing in a single word. For the casual Floyd/Barrett fans, the subject matter - the enigma that is Syd and his music - make it a worthwhile viewing. Storm Thorgerson central role in the commentary and interviews, and the interviews with his previously reluctant girlfriends, are also highlights. The exclusive photos from the infamous Wish You Were Here studio appearance also will be appreciated by Syd heads. All that said, these highlights don't make up for the weaknesses. No mention of the London Free School, so integral to the creation of the entire Chelsea bohemian scene of which Syd became a central figure. The importance of that scene's context to the creation of the Floyd, and of its beat/intellectual/art/mysticism influences on Syd - including his drug use - are discussed, but not in the depth needed. And no mention of the 14-Hour Technicolor Dream. Worse, the timeline of the crucial events of the spring/summer/fall of 1967 are dealt with loosely, not with the tightness needed to convey the landmarks of Syd's personality change. The laziness of failing to align pictures to appropriate segments of the timeline, and even playing "Baby Lemonade" during a discussion of "The Map Cap Laughs" (it was on the second solo album, "Barrett") is difficult to understand. Finally, the actor-conveyed mystical sequences of his life quickly become silly. The "hippies" in them look like something out of the '60s TV show Dragnet. Spending the time and effort to replace this footage with actual general footage from "Swinging London" or from Cambridge would have improved the film. Syd Barrett's life was a sad tragedy. He was a true musical genius whose life and talent spun off incredible lifelong journeys for at least two dozen of his friends, but whose own journey was stunted by a haze of drug use and mental illness. This film comes up short in properly conveying the breadth of that tragedy.