By MEGAN POTEET
For The Reporter
I did not grow up a Swiftie. As a fellow 1989-er, Taylor’s teenage country songs were a little too sweet for my teenage punk rock blood. I remember when she switched gears with her first two pop albums, Red (2012) and 1989 (2014), I was surprised to hear a few sick beats. Still, I felt she was just like any other artist, and out of pure stubbornness, I refused to take any real interest. It wasn’t until her latest album Midnights was released that I started to tumble down the rabbit hole and emerged into a lavender haze.
Midnights came into the world at midnight on Oct. 21, 2022, and proceeded to cause quite the fuss by breaking Spotify’s record of most streams by a single artist in 24 hours. A few weeks after the release of Midnights, Taylor announced her first tour in five years. It is to be called the Eras Tour and will include music from all 10 of her albums, four of which have never been previously toured (Lover, Evermore, Folklore, and Midnights). Swifties trying to register for the presale tickets on Nov. 15, 2022, overwhelmed Ticketmaster and crashed the site. This led to a couple of lawsuits and a whole lot of drama. If you weren’t one of the lucky ones to get in on the presale, then you were looking at spending thousands to be a part of this extremely popular cultural phenomenon.
Much to fans’ relief, the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film was announced in August of this year. The film opened in theaters across the country on Oct. 13, with a few places having earlier showtimes on the 12th. As someone unable to go to the Eras Tour, I was jumping at the chance to see this iconic concert in theaters. Our friends at Emagine Movie Theater in Noblesville graciously saw to it that I had an amazing experience watching this film.
Megan Poteet went in her full Taylor Swift concert garb, and she even bought this specially-made cup. (Reporter photo by Megan Poteet)
I am the kind of person who commits to the full experience. I wanted to go to this movie like I was going to the actual concert. This meant picking out an outfit that best represented my favorite Taylor Era, Midnights. Sunday night, I wore a navy dress covered in silver stars and a slew of friendship bracelets on my arms. I attended an almost sold-out show at 6 p.m. With popcorn and drink in hand I made my way to my reclining heated seat. After exchanging a few bracelets and pictures with fellow fans in my row, I settled in for the start of the film.
The Eras film was phenomenal! 165 minutes of full-on Taylor. All the iconic facial expressions, outfits, lyrics, and stage moments Swifties have come to cherish. Unlike other concert films I have seen, this one was brimming with moments where Taylor locks eyes with the camera making you feel even more immersed in this magical experience. The cinematography was outstanding!
This film is meant to be seen in theaters on a giant screen bringing dynamic to those larger-than-life concert moments. One of my favorite moments, however, was during the credits when we got to see little blooper moments from the tour. Moments such as dead microphones, wardrobe malfunctions, messed up lyrics and dance moves have been circulating social media for the last year of her tour. To see them on the big screen where we can all laugh at them together brought togetherness and familiarity to the experience that was fun and humanizing. It was a film made for the fans that highlighted the exceptionally talented woman that they have come to love.
Now let’s answer the question that everyone wants to know: do attendees dance at these concert films? The answer is yes and no. A few younger fans got up and danced in the very front by the screen during my showing. But the majority of the crowd stayed in their seats. With seats as comfortable as the recliners at Emagine, I can’t blame them. However, there was a lot of singing, cheering, and swaying in those seats. I won’t say the movie replicates the concert experience because it doesn’t. But it is a much more budget-friendly way to experience concerts and it seems to be growing in popularity.
I had the privilege of speaking to Emagine’s co-founder and chairman Paul Glantz during opening weekend.
“It is quite costly to go to a live concert,” Glantz said. “That is why we feel so fortunate to bring these productions to our guests.”
Emagine will continue to bring concerts to the community with the next concert being Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé available at the end of November. In the meantime, you can enjoy the Eras film in theaters until Sunday, Oct. 22. Aside from concert films and new arrivals, Emagine has Flashback Cinema every Sunday and Wednesday showing all time classics and seasonal favorite films.
You can find out more details about the impeccable Emagine Theater, their amazing loyalty program, bar menu, and specialty films on their website, emagine-entertainment.com.
Reporter photo by Megan Poteet