The idea of a Kurt Cobain movie, in any fashion, was always a frightening but exciting thought. Initially, we had some early indication that Courtney Love was interested in an actual scripted movie but it seems that never materialized, and thankfully so. It probably would have painful to watch virtually any actor try and be Cobain in a film, and after Montage of Heck, there is no question the only portrayal of Kurt, should be Kurt himself. Of course, Gus Van Sant's Last Days was an interesting concept that was the best of both worlds: A movie based on the Nirvana front man, but not really about him.
My biggest concern for the documentary would be that we are simply getting another Courtney Love approved look into the life of Cobain, like that of the book Heavier Than Heaven, when in fact most fans want a pure and unfiltered version of events, like the earlier and arguably much better book Come as You Are.
However, with Montage, we get a personal, almost too personal look at the life of Cobain. At times you almost feel like you are viewing snippets that were never meant to see the light of day, the approach by far takes a much more human look at a troubled life that ended much too early.
By doing so, Brett Morgen manages to take Kurt off of his rock star pedestal and make him a normal person. Or at least as normal as he could have been. The startling look into Kurt's childhood certainly was heartbreaking to watch. Being shuffled around, with no sense of family seemed to definitely contribute to some early rebellion and future sadness, the latter being a prominent fixture in his adult life as well as heightened levels of sensitivity.
But despite a rehash of all the troubling signs and warning flags throughout his life, there were many shining spots of happiness. Genuine, intimate moments where Kurt was at ease from the pressures of life. During the tumultous and often bleak end days of Nirvana, it's easy to forget the happy times in his life, especially with his daughter. 
Notably, the documentary excels at providing a visually stunning atmosphere with rich animations. Music is superbly placed throughout the film and overall it was simply wonderfully done and holds your attention for well over 2 hours. It's engaging for fans, but virtually anyone who is remotely interested in the Nirvana would appreciate the film's look.
While it is a very intimately and beautifully done documentary, there seemed to be a bit too much time allotted to Kurt and Courtney's relationship. That part seemingly dragged on, and damped the flow of the film a little bit. As the movie started to wind down and we approached the ending we all unfortunately know too well, the movie ends quite abruptly. No long drawn out look at Cobain's death. No crying fans. Nothing. A quick message that he took his own life a month after the Rome hospitalization. Though, we all knew it was coming, the film catches us a bit by surprise, much like Cobain's death, with it's quick halt.
In the end, Montage of Heck is a heck of a ride, albeit a sad one but still a very engrossing and excellent documentary.
I watched it for the first time and felt it was kind of a mixed bag. The visual element of it was amazing and made great use of Cobains art, sound work, demos etc. Though it times it didn't seem to flow well and they were just trying to cram as much content in as possible without keeping a linear feel to it.
ReplyDeleteThe end struck me as almost rushed, like they dedicated 2+ hours to it and didn't really know how to wrap it up, so they end it with the notion that he ultimately committed suicide because he felt Courteney wasn't going to be faithful.
Thanks for commenting!
DeleteMontage is probably the closest thing we'll get to a perfect Cobain documentary. The visual aspect of it was stunning but the way it told the story had some flaws.
At times it felt choppy and disjointed. Those closer to the band should have been allotted more time. Kurt and Courtney's relationship should have been abridged a bit, instead of being the main focus of the second half of the film.
I think essentially the issue with Cobain related releases these days...is we get the Courtney Love version of events. Ultimately, she'll want everything filtered thru her and in the end, we'll mostly have a biased look at things.
This is probably the best thing we will get in terms of a Cobain/Nirvana documentary ever. Not to say it's anywhere near perfect but the audio/video aspect of it makes up for many of its shortcomings. Very engrossing and well done visually. By far that is the best thing this movie has to offer.
ReplyDeleteHowever, aside from the artistic value of it, I think the content was lacking at times. Subjectively, they chose all the right people for interviews *but* not all of them portrayed Kurt with the depth or humility needed for a doc like this. Kurt's mom almost seems to embellish him as a latter day martyr, when the film is clearly trying to humanize him. Tracy, his ex girlfriend, just kind of awkwardly paints him as an artsy slacker, but never seems to appreciate what bloomed from it. Of course, Courtney herself just comes off as if she's rattling off events from a soap opera she watched. Again, all great subjects, but they didn't necessarily translate well to the movie.
Most notably, I felt Krist to be most genuine and profound person in the film. His allusion to Kurt simply wanting to build a house with his life, as in starting a family, was probably the most real metaphor for what he was trying to accomplish. A big house, loving wife, sweet daughter, trusted friends and a warm nurturing environment for all. That's what Kurt wanted, and started to build, but never finished.
The problem with all Kurt documentaries, is we always know they end. There's no way to have a fulfilling ending, because we all know the tragic final chapter. Montage gave it a good try...Courtney speaking of having thoughts of cheating on Kurt while Where Did You Sleep Last Night, plays hauntingly. Which transcends to end of the film, Kurt dead at 27 followed by his fitting Bleach era rendition "Ain't it a Shame."
While it wrapped up as well as it could, it seemingly inferred Kurt was simply brokenhearted and that in part led to his demise. However, his death was a complicated affair. With Courtney Love now controlling all things Cobain, we aren't always going to have the most unbiased look at his life. Although, I think the biggest problem here is that, while we all know how it ends, it seemingly chooses not to end on a positive note. Cobain changed the lives of countless people and many musicians. We inevitably knew his death would be touched upon, but why not take a chance and celebrate his life and impact? Cobain has the potential to live on forever with his music, which should be enjoyed, instead of wallowing in a tragedy we can't change.