True Stories

David Byrne trades in his oversized Talking Heads suit for Western wear and a black Stetson to direct, co-write and star in True Stories a Byrne's-eye view of Virgil, Texas.

That view, vividly shot by cinematographer Ed Lach-man and featuring music written by Byrne and songs performed by the Talking Heads, is danceable, irresistibly festive. You'll meet such amiable, offbeat folk as: bachelor Louis, who posts a "Wife Wanted" sign on his lawn; the world's laziest woman; a precision lawn-mower mar-ching team; and many more colorful participants in Virgil's Celebration of specialness. Innovative, energetic, funny and special. That's the truth of True Stories.

Music icon David Byrne was inspired by tabloid headlines to make his sole foray into feature-film directing, an ode to the extraordinariness of ordinary American life and a distillation of what was in his own idiosyncratic mind. The Talking Heads front man plays a visitor to Virgil, Texas, who introduces us to the citizens of the town during preparations for its Celebration of Specialness. As shot by cinematographer Ed Lachman, Texas becomes a hyperrealistic late-capitalist landscape of endless vistas, shopping malls, and prefab metal buildings. In True Stories, Byrne uses his songs to stitch together pop iconography, voodoo rituals, and a singular variety show—all in the service of uncovering the rich mysteries that lurk under the surface of everyday experience.