After the news broke about a film crew attending Taylor Swift’s Los Angeles Eras Tour shows, it was just a matter of time before we were getting the movie. The much anticipated concert film directed by Sam Wrench didn’t disappoint. The visuals, songs and overall performance that spanned over 17 years of music showed us some relationships never die.
Wrench, who also directed movies for BTS and Billie Eilish, brought the concert to the theaters. In Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, he perfectly captured not just Taylor’s emotions, but the emotions of the fans. Seeing the Swifties crying and screaming the words to the songs made the experience all the more delicate. The lower shot in “My Tears Ricochet” really put you into the Folklore set of the show. The different shots from SoFi Stadium really embraced the concert vibe that we all experienced.
When I went to her show the first time in Arlington, it was a very wholesome experience with like-minded individuals who had the same favorite artist as me. The movie experience was no different. When I first walked into Regal, I was instantly blown away by the amount of outfits, friendship bracelets, and Taylor Swift popcorn buckets. Seeing all the fans swarm the theater added such an energy to the place. If I didn’t know any better, I would think I was at The Eras Tour. It seemed like everybody knew each other and nobody cared what others thought. We were just there to have a good time.
The movie opened with a 13 second countdown just like the actual concert. That transitioned to the opening act with “Lover.” Getting to experience that feeling of seeing Taylor again was surreal. Getting to sway my hands to “You Need to Calm Down” and swaying my body to “Lover,” it was a perfect opening set to relive.
One of the best parts of the show is the unity between all of the fans. The heart hands in “Fearless,” and the chants in “Delicate” and “Bad Blood” were all highly exaggerated by the audience. You can also tell Taylor was having a good time with it too.
Getting to see Taylor look upon the audience made the entire auditorium realize that she doesn’t take any of it for granted. She just soaks in all the energy and joy and gives it her all in each and every performance. You can tell she really means what she sings. During “Champagne Problems” she is really heartbroken, but in “Look What You Made Me Do,” the tone is completely different. She experienced it all and she lets the world know that.
For the surprise songs of the show, we got “Our Song” and “You’re on Your Own, Kid.” Those are strong picks. It’s nice to see representation from her debut since it doesn’t get an official set. As for “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” the emotion is well shown and it’s a song a lot of people can relate to, especially Swifties.
A little bit of a disappointment though, was the songs she cut. I understand she had to make cuts within the film, but she cut some strong points: “Long Live,” “The Archer,” “Wildest Dreams” and more. About half of the attendants didn’t ever get to hear “Long Live” live, but she cut it out, which put the Speak Now set back to 1 song. “The Archer” was also a memorable moment from the show that isn’t shown in this film.
Also, cutting the transitions was disappointing. The way she would transition from Lover to Fearless or Reputation to Speak Now were really cool to see live. Cutting that out got rid of a part of the show that made it seem live. While it wasn’t too big of a loss, it still hurt.
Like everything, the movie has its flaws. Overall though, the show was an incredible experience. The memories my friends, and I and everyone made will live on. With the recent release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version), I think we can all agree that she’s on top of the world right now. I can’t wait to see where her career goes. It really has been a long time coming and a truly magical concert experience.
