Can a rock star also be humble? Bono's ‘Stories of Surrender' will surprise you

San Francisco Chronicle​

01-06-2025

Reading Bono's 2022 memoir ' Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story,' you might be struck by an intriguing juxtaposition: For a rock star often accused of harboring a messiah complex, this guy also, somehow, seems admirably humble.
That same spirit guides the new performance documentary 'Bono: Stories of Surrender,' adapted from the U2 leader's one-man stage show inspired by that book.
Given stark cinematic life by director Andrew Dominik, the film — which streams on Apple TV+ starting Friday, May 30, after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival earlier in the month — features paradoxes worthy of its subject. It is both stripped-down and grandiose, over-the-top and understated.
'Stories of Surrender' was shot before an adoring live audience at the Beacon Theatre in New York and enhanced with filmic touches provided in post-production. While it sometimes struggles with the transition from stage to screen, it ultimately succeeds due to its star's unassuming charisma and effortless storytelling.
'It is preposterous to think others might be as interested in your own story as you are,' the Irish rock star, born Paul David Hewson, tells his audience from the stage. But we know that he knows his story is worth hearing, and it's clear that he relishes the opportunity.
That story is about a rebellious Dublin teen who at 14, his mother, Iris, dies from an aneurysm, and his already-reticent father (or 'the da,' as Bono consistently calls him) grows even more distant. Under the sway of punk acts like the Ramones, dreaming of forming his own band, young Paul rounds up some friends — Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr. and the Edge — and, through force of will and talent, make the climb from sparsely populated pub gigs to sold-out stadiums.
At only 86 minutes, 'Stories of Surrender' makes no pretense of telling the full Bono story. But it picks its spots with artful precision and with keen cinematic instincts.
Dominik (2007's ' The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ' and 2022's ' Blonde ') and cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt use black-and-white imagery shot with chiaroscuro lighting to set an intimate but poetic tone. At times we see multiple Bonos talking to each other. The occasional blast of pyrotechnics tends to be muted.
The music itself is presented with a minimalist touch. Music supervisor Jacknife Lee, working with cellist Kate Ellis and harpist Gemma Doherty, provide the backbone, with the occasional prerecorded blast of a familiar anthem. The songs provide autobiographical background and heft, as when Bono recalls the sense of purpose and thrill that came with belting out 'Pride (In the Name of Love)' at the 1985 Live Aid benefit concert — then notes ruefully that the $250 million that concert raised for Ethiopia was a mere drop in the bucket of the country's desperate need.
Wearing a suit jacket, pinstriped vest and beads, Bono uses empty chairs and spotlights to recreate key moments of his tale. Three simple kitchen chairs placed in a row represent Clayton, Mullen and the Edge as the aspiring rock stars who try to piece together what would become the early hit 'I Will Follow.'
More poignantly, Bono sits in a plush lounge chair as he imagines the pub conversations he used to have with his father, who would begin every conversation with the same question: 'Anything strange or startling?' One day, well into U2's run of stardom, the son decides to turn the question on the father, only to receive the devastating news that the old man has cancer.
'Stories of Surrender' is a disarming portrait of a self-aware megastar with an authentically personal demeanor, the kind of guy you might want to join for one of those pub conversations. If you do think Bono has a god complex, he comes across here as someone eager to sit down, laugh about it and perhaps tip a couple of pints.