Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015)

KURT COBAIN: MONTAGE OF HECK  (2015)  ¢ ¢ ¢
    D: Brett Morgen
Sometime after I saw this movie, it occurred to me that I'd watched three documentaries in the space of a month, one each for Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse and Chris Farley, and it made me think I wouldn't mind seeing somebody's life scroll by who didn't do way too much dope and die way too young. Take a quick glance at Cobain's biography, and it's not hard to see a few parallels to John Lennon. Both were emotionally sensitive and came from troubled families. Both were multitalented artists, adept at music, wordplay and doodling. Both reached an absurd level of fame in their early 20s, and both came under the influence of a domineering woman. There were differences, too, and they were crucial. John had an acerbic wit which he honed into a highly effective defense mechanism. Kurt appears to have had no defenses at all. John's soul mate, Yoko Ono, brought balance to his life in a way few would've predicted. Courtney Love, to whom Kurt was visibly devoted, was a walking horror show, and worst of all, a fellow junkie. Some people just fall in love with the wrong people, and there's nothing you can do about that. One of this movie's most disturbing scenes shows Kurt and Courtney goofing off, imitating addicts pretending to act normal while jonesing for their next fix. Even harder to watch is the footage of Kurt, zonked and nodding off, holding his daughter, Frances Bean, who's getting her hair cut. From the beginning, Cobain seems predestined not to live a long life, and his fate was pretty much sealed when he found out how much he liked heroin. You can't help wishing he'd had more time, to write more songs and do more doodling. But it's not hard to see why it didn't work out that way.