That’s Andrew Lyons

Quade poses with the “Lincoln head” in That’s Andrew Lyons

An "authoritative narrator" is someone who speaks directly to the viewer and appears to deliver truth. In That's Andrew Lyons, the whimsical Quade momentarily occupies this role, opening the film with confident assertions about who Andrew Lyons is. But there are hints of his subjectivity from the beginning: "Andrew Lyons wakes up every day to a sunny morning", then, just thirty seconds later, he admits: "At least, that's how I remember him."

This mismatch between Quade's authoritative tone and the uncertainty of his memory sets up the film's central tension. Quade's warm, poetic phrasing elevates Andrew into something mythic, creating a dramatic and sometimes comedic irony once Andrew begins speaking for himself. 

The poster for That’s Andrew Lyons

The audience must constantly reassess how much of Andrew's story belongs to Andrew, and how much belongs to Quade. Competing narratives begin to emerge, rooted in the differences between Quade's mythology and Andrew's reality. But even though Quade and Andrew fundamentally see the world differently, their long friendship is always felt, and it softens everything the documentary is doing to otherwise subtly dramatise it. 

By the end, Quade lightly amends his opening claim. He admits that he "frames things in metaphors", it's just what he does. He never claimed to be an authoritative narrator, and his view of Andrew hasn't really changed all that much. He still views him as Michelangelo, as Einstein. But the addition turns the statement from clear hyperbole into rather beautiful metaphor... "The truth is, Andrew Lyons wakes up every day to a sunny morning… even when it rains."

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