I once described Francis and the Lights–specifically the singer and songwriter, Francis Farewell Starlite–as Tom Waits meets Prince. The twenty-five minute “concert” film, The White Room, certainly shows the Prince influence. Concert gets quotation marks because there’s no one audibly in attendance to Starlite and his band’s performance. They perform on a stage, presumably in real time–director Schreier fades to black between each song, so it’s possible there are cuts.

Schreier (the former keyboardist for the band) treats the band as literal background for the first half of Room. It’s unclear what’s foreground, sometimes Starlite’s feet, which Schreier has projected huge behind the singer, showcasing the impossible motion during singing.

A critic once wondered what noises Eleanor Parker made during the opera scenes in Interrupted Melody (Eileen Farrell provided the eventual singing voice)–watching White Room, one wonders how Starlite can do it all.

It’s magnificent.

Highly Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Jake Schreier; written by Francis and the Lights.

Starring Jonathan Finlayson (Snyth), Kassa Overall (Drums), Max Tucker (Percussion), Jeremy Most (Bass), Raynier Jacildo (Synth) and Francis Farewell Starlite (Vocals and Keyboards).