Bono: Stories Of Surrender

Bluesky

U2 frontman Bono could never be described as a shrinking violet, always ready to bask in any limelight that’s available.

Here he’s at the service of filmmaker Andrew Dominik (or should be that be the other way round?) in a stunning and almost exclusively monochrome journey, inspired by his book tour for his 2022 autobiography Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.

It’s a glorious mix of both off and onstage material and reflections on life from his Dublin childhood to becoming an international icon with a messianic demeanour.

It begins in the same way as the book with Bono describing in fairly graphic detail the open-heart surgery he undertook in 2016 to repair what describes as a “blister” on his aorta. Paradoxically the condition helped to provide him with additional lung capacity.

Certainly Bono scarcely pauses for breath as he embarks on the journey without his bandmates David Howell Evans (better known as The Edge), Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen jr, represented on stage by empty chairs. Ghostly figures emerge from his past including his mother Iris, who died when he was 14, and his father with whom he had a conflicted relationship to say the least.

Bono also performs plenty of his hits, including City Of Blinding Lights, With Or Without You; and It’s A Beautiful Day in new configurations with the Jacknife Lee Ensemble, which will keep fans happy.

The amount of material is impressive and Dominik (whose recent CV includes the Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde) handles it all seamlessly, including a spoken tribute to Bono's mother while the song Iris itself is sung in the background. When it comes to With Or Without You, Bono uses the occasion to talk movingly between the lines about his wife Alison Stewart and their relationship.

Bono, despite his acknowledged ego, is also able to puncture his own image which proves to be saving grace amid all the adulation.

At the beginning he intones in self-deprecating manner: “It is preposterous to think that others might be as interested in your own stories as you are.” Dominik’s skill (with a little help from Bono) is in making it appealing to both fans and sceptics alike.

Bono: Stories of Surrender will be available on Apple TV+ from May 30.

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