The Possibilities Are Endless

Most people of a certain age will know who Edwyn Collins is even if it's just because they know the 1994 song "I've never met a girl like you before" but not everyone will know his recent life story and a very sad one it is. in 2005, Collins said he felt unwell , two days later he suffered a major cerebral haemorrhage to his brain and his life completely changed . This documentary follows him and his wonderfully supportive partner Grace on part of the long hard road to recovery. Although the story is sad it's quite an uplifting documentary. It's obvious that due to the massive brain injury that Collins will never be the same as he was but that isn't stopping him doing what he loves best. Playing music. This does suffer from being a little bit too arty at times but nonetheless is still a film you should see.

I am watching this and wondering why. I have never been a fan of Edwyn Collins - he is a typical pop star of his time. Talentless and simplistic music which appeal to the sort of people who do not like to think about their music. His lyrics are trite and awkward. He does not look particularly good and has zero charisma. How the hell anyone thought him worthy of a documentary like this escapes me totally. Of course it is a tragedy for anyone to suffer a catastrophic brain injury which Collins did but his importance in the music scene is far too much emphasised and the scene has not suffered one jot from his absence. This film is inept in almost every respect - it puts his medical event into no kind of context -we have no idea of how he was before the incident and the viewer becomes disinterested before the story even begins.

The first twenty minutes are this really work in an atmospheric, lyrical, poetic sort of way. The same sort of way that Malick films work. Really ambitious and inspired for a documentary. And the whole documentary refuses to bow downy os sentimentality of misery and pain, and instead really highlights the beautiful moments. This film is definitely going to test many people's patience, but considering how bad some films get these days, nor expect for the audience, this is a very, very welcome little surprise and I hope many people are able to seek it out. It's a really grand testament with how it approaches its subject and the subject matter, and definitely recommend it.

Scottish musician Edwyn Collins is best known (if at all) for his hits "Rip It Up And Start Again" (with Orange Juice) and "A Girl Like You" which became a worldwide smash in 1994. Despite only having the two hits he was a constant presence in the UK music industry and his witty and opinionated views made him a radio regular. It was after an appearance with Andrew Collins on BBC6Music that he suffered a brain hemorrhage and entered into a coma. This film charts his recovery, his relationship with his partner, and his attempts to make new music.

The problem is it's hard to see who it will appeal to: the film is far too wishy-washy and fails to pin down it's subject. While we watch atmospheric visuals and listen to amazing sound design we drift merely around the edges of the man himself, who barely appears for an hour.

If you've never heard of the man, there is no context. Nothing to say why you should care, and barely anything to show what he was like before the coma. A few brief clips from "Conan O'Brien" and "Top of the Pops" aside, the film remains stubbornly in the etherworld of Collins' coma.

The first hour is dreary, insubstantial indulgence by the film-makers. The last 20 minutes goes some way to redeeming itself by showing more of Edwin at work and with Grace, but the whole thing is lacking. It needed more voices, more history. You learn much more, and are moved more, by the BBC Radio 4 programme "Mastertapes" that features in this film and can still be heard on the Radio 4 website.

I think the biggest problem people have with this film is that they were expecting a regular documentary about Edwyn. Forget that. The film is designed to reflect his struggle back to health and the result is jaw-dropping. It begins fractured and barely coherent, a series of scattered images on screen - sea, sky, a grainy 16mm image of a walk with a loved one, snippets of half-remembered conversations and lyrics.

Make no mistake, this was done deliberately to try and instill in the viewer some tiny amount of the disorientation that Edwyn would have felt - a struggle to think clearly or even construct intelligible sentences. As the film progresses it becomes more linear as we follow the singer's road back to health and his determination to play live once again.

Only the most cold-hearted would not be inspired and amazed by his journey - a lovely guy hit by tragedy who lucked out with having an incredible woman by his side.