FilmSnobReviews

Title: Cobain: Montage of Heck
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Director: Brett Morgan
Starring: Kurt Cobain, Cris Novoselic, Courtney Love
Runtime: 2 hr 12 mins

What It Is: A poignant look in at the life of Kurt Cobain lead singer/songwriter for the influential band Nirvana. Through animated reenactments of his journal entries as well as those of his other writings and audio tapes we are taken on a journey from his humble upbringing in Aberdeen, Washington to the reluctant genius poet for Generation X. Along the way we also get initimate interviews with people like his wife Courtney Love, and ex-band mate Cris Novoselic. We learn what took Cobain from just a regular little boy, to a musical icon, and then sadly a cautionary tale.

What We Think: This is a documentary that straddles the line between narrative fiction and reality. You can’t even believe some of the stuff you’re witnessing. Based solely on the drawing you can see the seeds are planted for the incoming maelstrom that was Nirvana, and furthermore the existence he has to live. Most were never privy to the lives Kurt and his wife Courtney Love lived together, outside that of the tabloid fodder. The interviews with Novoselic and Love offer a glimpse into those days. They also paint a picture of a man that was frightened of and despised humiliation.

Our Grade: A, There’s a delicacy with this film. Morgan handles this difficult subject with poise and grace. Cobain is not presented as a saint, because well he was not one. We do feel sorry for this tortured genius, and having the Nirvana tunes really helped legitimize the feature. One small problem I had was that there was no interview with Dave Grohl, and I believe that stems from the supposed problems with Love during the creation of this film.

Dig what we’re doing? Go ahead and subscribe so you can find out about all the news we have coming up, including a contest we have in the works.