4 Stars
If moviegoers hesitate to see "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" because they think it's just a simple documentary on a simple topic, it's hard to fault them.
After all, that's what filmmaker Sam Jones thought when he joined innovative Chicago rock group Wilco as it began to record its fourth album -- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
Jones didn't foresee the laborious recording process, inner band turmoil and two-year struggle with the record industry to release what became one of the most brilliant albums of the year.
Neither did the members of Wilco.
But while the band might wish the making of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot had been as simple as it first appeared, the drama, tension and ultimate triumph of the album's creation elevates "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" high above the standard documentary.
Simply put, it's a tale of true art trying to survive in an increasingly commercial world, and anyone with an appreciation for either will be captivated.
Many music fans already know the story. The band, a perennial favorite critically but a disappointment commercially, spends a tumultuous year making the greatest album of its career only to have the work rejected by its label.