MONTAGE OF HECK
Director: Brett Morgan
Cast: Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl
Rating: (M)
Four stars (out of five)
It's probably the same question director Brett Morgan wrestled with when tackling such a tricky subject.
So, like the maverick documentary-maker he is, Morgan doesn't bother satiating either.
Rather, just as he did with Crossfire Hurricane, Morgan takes a fresh look at available archive material and uses that to inform his storytelling rather than visually support it.
This film does not attempt to address many of the questions Kurt Cobain's untimely death left behind.
What it does instead is give the viewer an evocative snapshot of a place, a phenomenon and a point in time when a raspy voice with a punk sensibility caught the imagination of teenagers tired of overproduced '80s stadium rock.
For the uninitiated, Cobain rode a wave of celebrity in the early '90s before succumbing to addiction and taking his own life.
Alongside the incoherent ramblings and dysfunctional life lived by Kurt and his wife Courtney Love are some really poignant insights into Cobain's creative process, yearning for family and unbridled joy at becoming a father.
It can be hard going, drawn out and confusing, but that is part of the appeal.
Montage of Heck doesn't put words in Cobain's mouth.
Rather, as the title suggests, it is a clever assembly of intimate images backed by a cracking soundtrack that casts light on a unique individual in a slightly unhinged, raw and very honest way.
- Mark Orton
