Rating: 4.5/5 stars

On Oct. 12, Taylor Swift (“Midnights”) brought her global phenomenon “The Eras Tour” to movie theaters everywhere.

Swift’s tour is known for having an intense demand for tickets, creating massive problems on TicketMaster and prompting some of the highest resale prices imaginable. Her Eras Tour explores music from across her lengthy career, ending with her most recent release, “Midnights.”

In response to the many fans who were unable to get tickets, whether that be due to price or proximity, Swift released a concert film version of the movie. Unlike a standard movie theater experience, attendees were encouraged to sing along and dance, as long as their noise level did not disrupt visitors in other theaters.

It would be impossible for Swift to meet the demand for her concert experience by touring. The sheer number of tickets she could sell would require a superhuman performance quantity and stadium sizes that defy physics. This concert movie was a great alternative to allow Swift enjoyers, newbies and full-on “Swifities” to get an experience that they might have been denied entirely otherwise. 

However, the tickets were priced higher than a standard movie ticket price, with the general ticket price being $19.89. While Swift is an artist, she is also a businesswoman. Swift and her team were probably well aware that there would be no trouble selling tickets with this higher price point. However, if the concert film was truly about making Swift’s concert accessible for the average viewer, I believe that the ticket prices should have been the same as the standard movie. Evidently, the goal of profit outweighed accessibility.

Swift also announced, with only a day’s notice, that the movie would be opening early, on Oct. 12 instead of Oct. 13. This was a disappointing choice. Many fans had pre-purchased tickets to the opening night, anticipating that experience, only to find out that they would not be there for the true opening night unless they spent another near $20 on a ticket. This was a decision I found to be entirely unnecessary and probably driven by the same mentality.

Experiences varied immensely from theater to theater. Some showings were full of fans dressed up as a variety of Swift’s eras and trading friendship bracelets, while others emulated the standard movie theater experience, with silent crowds simply content to watch.

I was able to attend a Saturday night showing at an AMC theater. My experience was somewhere between these two extremes, and I was thrilled with it. One tradition at Swift’s concerts has been trading brightly-colored, homemade friendship bracelets with her lyrics on them. The trend originated from a lyric from her song “You’re On Your Own Kid.” This is a trend I really enjoyed partaking in. I was able to trade bracelets with people of all ages. This trend is a beautiful way to connect with other people and share a brief personal connection.

The concert film itself is beautifully filmed, especially if one is able to suspend reality a little and not hyperfocus on the fact that her hair might be frizzy in one shot and then perfect a few seconds later. The cinematography is great, the editing is fun and the eras are introduced well. Each had a short introduction with the album’s title, which was good for those who may not have listened to Swift’s entire discography.

The concert is there in almost full integrity, though I was disappointed to see a few songs removed. While I understand the choice to make cuts for length, the songs that were pulled do not seem to be logical choices. Fan favorites, such as “The Archer” and “Long Live” were pulled, as well as one of her biggest hits, “Wildest Dreams.” One of the biggest disappointments for me was the removal of “no body no crime,” which was included in select performances where the band HAIM (“Women in Music Pt. III”) opened for her.

Overall, the experience at this concert movie was wonderful. I would be in attendance again and again were it not for the steep ticket price. Instead, I will content myself to wait until the movie hopefully releases on a streaming service, maybe even in its full form.

Image from Taylor Swift via YouTube.com