Quite often celebrities -- no matter their profession, but usually occurring more often with movie and rock stars -- eventually succumb to the everyday pressures of being seen through the public's eyes. Conflicting with or occasionally exacerbating their private personas, these people often begin to believe their own press, turn to drugs or, more rarely, take their own lives to "escape."
Such is the case with Kurt Cobain, the late lead singer of the rock group, Nirvana, that ushered in the advent of "grunge rock" and the grungy, flannel shirt wearing fashion that was adopted by fans worldwide. Seemingly at the height of his career, and married with a young daughter, Cobain took his own life after "escaping" from a drug rehab center. Despondent over the artificiality that his sudden success brought him, and saddled with a heroin addiction, Cobain committed suicide. Or did he?
That's the question documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield ("Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam") hopes to investigate and ultimately answer in his latest work, "Kurt & Courtney." Without Cobain around and with a tight-lipped and reportedly omnipotent Love looming above his production, however, Broomfield unfortunately can't go very far with this material. Fans hoping to learn more about Cobain had better look elsewhere as this film runs out of meaningful material fast and consequently turns into something nearing a witch hunt.
For a while the film seems as if it might have something going for it, as we visit Kurt's aunt and see and hear early images and recordings of the future rock star. We also see Kurt's artwork that clearly proved that he was troubled throughout his short life. Soon, however, -- and as Broomfield doesn't hesitate to tell us repeatedly -- we learn that Love evidently controls all of her former husband's work and is actively trying to stop this film.
Consequently, there's not much material of Cobain himself -- save for bits of one interview and some brief home movie footage -- for us to see or hear. Nor are there interviews with his former band members, roadies, managers, or others who would have had relatively close contact with the troubled performer. Thus, the filmmaker quickly resorts to interviewing some questionable characters who claim to have past personal relationships with the couple.
A few of those moments, such as time spent with Courtney's ex, are unexpectedly funny. Still fuming that she ruined his musical career to further his, and having had some recent bad contact with Courtney and her camp, Roz takes advantage of his moment on camera and lets his ex-lover have a piece of his mind in a rather funny diatribe.
In fact, most of the interviews are unintentionally funny -- at least for moviegoers who don't take any of the underground rock n' roll theatrics seriously. What's sad, but also disturbing, is that Broomfield takes what these less than reputable characters say as gospel and then runs with what may be the truth, but most likely is the product of some lowlifes seeking their fifteen minutes of fame.
Any serious documentarian or investigator would undoubtably attempt to validate "evidence" that others have brought forth. Broomfield, on the other hand, nearly turns this into a witch hunt -- albeit an often comical one -- ultimately trying to get Love to admit to killing her husband (or at least have him killed) after listening to the allegations and "evidence" brought forth by her estranged father, a private detective and others.
While Love is certainly no angel -- as demonstrated by a "charming" tape recording of a threatening phone message she left someone -- she does deserve the old "benefit of the doubt" and "innocent until proven guilty" tenets, especially after the shady "character witnesses" have soiled her already shaky reputation. However, none of that's to be found here.
Of course Broomfield has the right to be upset if Love and her camp tried to put the kibosh on this documentary, and his efforts are certainly deflated by not having much source material with which to work. Featuring grainy original footage, shaky camera work and an extremely low budget feel, he's definitely been hurt by a lack and/or removal of financial backing.
Even so, he's apparently made the cardinal sin of letting his personal feelings get in the way of making the film. He's clearly got an ax to grind, but no way to thoroughly sharpen it. If not for the unplanned humorous moments -- which are only byproducts of the film's "investigation" -- this picture would have quickly become near unbearable to sit through.
If you want to see an odd, but occasionally and certainly unintentionally funny look at the dark underbelly of life and the characters that reside there, then this film might be of interest to you. On the other hand, if you're looking for some original insight regarding the life and death of Kurt Cobain and his relationship with his wife -- beyond what's already publicly known -- you'll surely be disappointed by this offering, especially in the second half. I came away knowing next to nothing new about them, other than the murder conspiracy theory that's never fully explored and certainly not resolved. We give "Kurt & Courtney" a 2.5 out of 10.
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