Kurt & Courtney

As a hopeless britfreak/anglophile, I am a fan of documentarian Nick Broomfield. However, I have only seen three of his films. For some reason, the majority of his films don't seem to be available for rent.

I enjoyed Kurt & Courtney. The film's hype seemed to laughably imply that 'Courtney did it'!in regards to Kurt's demise. Okay, she does have a slight anger management problem, but that's beside the point.

The implication seemed to be that she hired someone to off Kurt. But, the film goes off in other directions, and outshines the sensationalistic hype.

The low key Broomfield gently and intelligently guides his subjects; they let down their guard; they humorously reveal themselves and their versions of the truth.

At times, Broomfield's films make one feel like a rubbernecker perusing a car accident; like a TV viewer watching America's Most Shocking Videos; sometimes we just cannot help ourselves.

Kurt's tragic life and personal demons are revealed, as are Courtney's. Family, friends, and people in the Seattle grunge music scene are interviewed. A murder plot of sorts is investigated. Courtney's antagonism towards mainstream media is explored.

I found Kurt & Courtney to be fascinating and entertaining.

Nick Broomfield is a great documentary filmmaker - his pics on Heidi Fleiss & Aileen Wuoronos are especially effective. He was criticized for this film being too one-sided and featuring himself too much. But, as you watch the film, you realize he really had no choice because, everyone (especially people who are pro-Courtney) is terrified of suffering the wrath of Courtney (who is, no matter who you hear from, obviously a violent psychotic) if they speak out in Nick's film. This leaves only people with nothing to lose (addicts, losers, and disgruntled ex-employees) to interview. Thus, most of the footage consists of Broomfield desperately trying to glean ANY information on his chosen subject. What we learn we learn by reading between the lines. For instance, the very fact that Love put pressure on his financers from the very beginning of his filming speaks volumes. If Broomfield didn't set out to lambast her at the start, she certainly helped change his mind quickly. The film does little to clear up the decidedly murky circumstances of Cobain's death (though the guy seemed to be a walking suicidal time-bomb). What it does prove is that Love basically got her claws into Kurt, chewed him up, spit him out, and got his millions - all in a span of about three years! And it's all worth it to see Broomfield call an auditorium full of hypocrites - the ACLU - on the carpet for allowing Love, who regularly makes death threats to journalists, to be their spokesperson for free speech.

Not being particularly interested in either Kurt or Courtney, I was surprised how director Nick Broomfield managed to attract me to his film. His unique style gets us involved with the story that no one really knows where it's going. Not even the director himself. This may prove frustrating to those who have become accustomed to polished and hollywoodized type of film making, or those who are looking for a clear "angle". To me however, it was a wonderful gallery of many slices of real life: from director's own challenges to one of the best documentary film endings I've ever seen.

Hats off to Nick Broomfield for his uncompromising style and bravery.

Kurt & Courtney (1998)

*** (out of 4)

Nick Broomfield's controversial documentary on the suicide of Kurt Cobain and the conspiracy theories around whether or not Courtney Love had him murdered. This is an incredibly strange documentary that has "witnesses" that no lawyer in the world would put on the stand but at the same time there's no question that the film will keep you glued to what you're watching. It's hard to say how much truth is found in this documentary or if everything here is nothing more that cruel gossip but I must say that it's rather obvious that Broomfield hates Love. There are a lot of problems with this documentary with the main one being Broomfield's attacks on Love at every chance he gets. It's clear he wants to know whether or not Love killed Cobain but I think there are quite a few cheap shots taken at her. The director is constantly saying how he wanted to use certain music but Love wouldn't allow it. Well, duh. Any music rights owner isn't going to let you freely use something so considering this film ran out of backers it's clear that they wouldn't have had the money to buy the music even if they were for sale. There's an episode at the end when the director could have asked her a question but didn't and instead gets on a stage and does it in public. Another cheap shot. With that said, the murder conspiracy is just something hard to wrap your brain around. Even if it was true, the witnesses here are cracked out heroin addicts so it's really hard to take what they say as the truth. You could argue that Kurt and Courtney were a part of this crowd, which I guess would be fair but I do wonder what motive some of these people had. It's clear that Love's father hates his daughter so his motives are certain. Others claim that they're terrified of Love yet they come out and say she murdered Kurt. No matter what your opinion on the truth is, it's hard to take any real evidence out of this documentary.

Nick Broomfield tries to clarify that absurd theory that says that Kurt Cobain was murdered. No one would actually believe that Kurt was killed because it is quite clear that his addiction and his depression killed him.

Anyway, Broomfield lets everyone to make their point, all those that defend the conspiration theory. But let me tell you, some of them, just like Courtney Love's father or that grotesque guy called The Duce are not reliable sources precisely.

Maybe Nick goes too far accusing Courtney. I mean, she's not Mother Theresa, but she isn't the root of all evil either. She's nothing but an arrogant and eccentric rockstar... just like most of people there in Hollywood.

Otherwise, "Who killed Kurt...?" has valious moments for all the fans of Kurt: early recordings, interviews with some of his relatives and childhood friends...

*My rate: 6/10