Watched the Kurt Cobain film “About a Son” a couple nights ago and it was alright, but for a while I was bored silly. As you may or may not know, the film is composed of audio tapes of Kurt speaking (from a series of interviews) set to images of the Northwest and places where he lived. There is no Nirvana music. There are only a few images of Kurt and his mates at the end of the movie. No footage or anything.
About a half hour in I was checking the time, wondering how long this was going to go. The music isn’t bad, but hearing Queen or Cheap Trick or even R.E.M. while Kurt talks is still not the same as if it were Nirvana. And the scenes of Washingtonians staring into the camera or water or leaves or whatever gets kinda boring.
But of course, it’s the second half that gets you. Really, it’s the end. I know the story of Kurt, I know the whole family and divorce and Aberdeen stuff, but it only really gets interesting when it becomes about Nirvana and the scene and Courtney and drugs. It’s heavy shit. And to hear him talk about killing himself–actually blowing his head off–is pretty chilling, considering that he eventually did just that.
I hope that they can one day put together live footage, actual interviews, and a non-Courtney spin into a Kurt Cobain film. That would be awesome. Until then, I still have the videotapes.