Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015)

Cobain: Montage of Heck is an authorised documentary about the late musician Kurt Cobain. It details his early life growing up in Aberdeen, Washington to his international success with Nirvana and his marriage to Courtney Love.

Overall Review Score

3 out of 10

Review

Cobain: Montage of Heck is a biographical documentary that outlines the life of Kurt Cobain and how he channelled his unique and sometimes troubled life into 90’s rock band Nirvana’s music. Montage of Heck features all the perquisites for a biographical documentary – interviews with friends and family, pictures and videos of the subject and never before seen footage. However, it suffers in parts from an over-use of animated montages and severe lack of musical interludes between interviews, which comes across as tedious and makes the 141-minute run time seem overly long for what is essentially film that could be summed up in 60 minutes or less. Overall, Cobain: Montage of Heck will effortlessly please long-time Nirvana fans and its insight into Kurt Cobain’s life will help define his legacy as one of a loving husband and father, who was unprepared for fame and equally unwilling to accept it. Although, if you are unfamiliar with Kurt Cobain or Nirvana, the films bizarre and somewhat confusing cutting pattern and lack of explanation will leave you with more questions than answers about a man who seemed uncomfortable, frustrated and occasionally unhappy about how his artistic vision, and personal life, was being interpreted by both the media and the wider public.

Reviewer 1's score & comments:

Score: 1 out of 10

Comments:

Cobain: Montage of Heck could have been one of the most innovative and intimate documentaries of all time, showcasing never seen before footage and revelatory interviews from friends and family about the legend that is Kurt Cobain. However, it appears that director and writer Brett Morgan was more interesting in cashing in on Nirvana’s fame than creating an aesthetically pleasing documentary, which made the whole 141-minute feature a giant waste of potential. After watching the film the audience will be left questioning Brett Morgan’s decision to include so many pointless montages that add nothing to the Cobain narrative and why there was so few video or audio recordings, made by Cobain himself, utilised.

Reviewer 2's score & comments:

Score: 5 out of 10

Comments:

Going into this film with very little knowledge about Kurt Cobain or Nirvana, except the massively popular song Smells Like Teen Spirit, I was swept up in a very human story that could be divided in two halves. On one hand, I was surprised at the humbled and troubled background of Kurt Cobain as recounted through a very engrossing animated montage, his reluctance to accept fame and his easy, albeit somewhat drug fuelled, stage presence. However, on the other hand, I felt Montage of Heck attempted to re-write history by displaying Courtney Love as someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, rather than – as many Nirvana fans believe – the downfall of Kurt Cobain. Additionally, I felt the films lack of live stage footage of Nirvana puts off younger audiences from enjoying the 141-minute feature, as it assumes the audience already knows why Nirvana are classed as one of the most influential and important rock bands of the modern era. Overall, Montage of Heck delivers what it promises...an understated and limited look into the life of Kurt Cobain.

#biography #musical #documentary