Gus Van Sant's "The Last Days"
I have to review this movie for anyone following my reviews so that no one will ever waste their money on it. This movie is about Kurt Cobain's last days, no matter what else people say. Some say it's not supposed to be about Kurt, but the main character looks like, dresses like, lives like, Kurt. He dies 100% as Kurt's copycat if he isn't supposed to be Kurt. The film follows an extremely addicted addict through his severely artsy and decadent lifestyle. Walking in the woods, swimming in the river, walking around his house in a dress with a shotgun, and not wanting to talk to his "friends" or record company people. I am pretty sure Kurt would mainly have sat wasted on a couch for weeks on end if he was really an addict, not swim in the woods and go camping like the movie suggests. H addicts don't want to move at all. That was just artistic BS. Everyone in the movie just acted like a mindless addict. Stumbling around stupidly in a haze, mumbling to themselves, not concerned with cleanliness or style. No serious acting AT ALL. It's like getting your friends together and telling them just to all go about acting like junkies. It was similar to a David Lynch film in that it makes no sense (but Lynch does have some weird idea he is trying to convey), but this film didn't even have a script. They had junkies/actors improv'ing. Here's the direction, act wasted and emotionally detached. Have weird camera angles and pretty Seattle woods views. That's it. As a fan of Kurt I expected this movie to give some insight into his friends and family (Courtney, Frances, Dave Grohl, Christ N, whatever). It just shows Kurt/Blake walking alone in nature and blowing off squatters he has in his house. This movie sucked. If you want to do a rock documetary just to be artsy, look at Oliver Stone's "The Doors". It has Jim's story, lifestyle, friends, family, last days plus tons of artsy visual stuff. This movie would be like doing Jim's last days as him in the bath tub wasted on whatever for an hour and a half mumbling. Or Jimi Hendrix's last days as him vomiting in a bed and not talking to people for and hour and a half. Or Sublime's Brad or Blind Melon's Shannon's last days as them sitting alone, doing drugs, not talking to anyone for an hour and a half and dying. This movie sucks as the only movie about Kurt's life and legacy for what he did. Sure he might have spent his last days like this, but that's not showing why this guy was great. Show him performing, recording, hanging with friends and family before he knew he was going to kill himself. This movie just shows the story of a hopeless addict but they had to say it was Kurt Cobain's story. It just shows an addict doodling around then killing himself. No hint that there was an artist even present in the addict. They shouldn't have said it was Kurt's story, just a junkie's story. Then I wouldn't complain. Why do a movie about Kurt at all if you don't want to talk AT ALL about his artistic side? But Kurt put out 4 albums that changed the world and had a heart felt sensitivity to the world, which wasn't represented in this movie at all. I plead that no one sees this and gives Gus Van Sant a whole lot of shit for trashing Kurt.
0 out of 5 eyes.