THELONIUS MONK: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER
D: Charlotte Zwerin (1988) ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
Clint Eastwood's company produced this documentary on the brilliant, eccentric pianist, whose impact on the jazz world was profound, despite escalating mental-health issues that eventually caused him to stop playing. If Monk wasn't completely detached from the rest of the world, he was at least at odds with it. He seems to be spinning - literally and figuratively - in his own universe, touching down only when he's playing music, and even then he's in a world of his own. The movie is conspicuously nonlinear, which makes sense, and a lot of it is just Monk at the piano, which makes sense, too. Whether there needs to be footage of his girlfriend's cats (of which there are way too many), or Monk ordering liver and mashed potatoes from room service, seems questionable, but any time his fingers are stabbing at the keys, you can see what made him unique. Look for the part where Monk, playing in a club somewhere, takes a cigarette out of his mouth with one hand, uses a handkerchief to wipe his face with the other, and seemingly never misses a note. Who could do that? Only Thelonius Monk.
