Stranger Than Fiction

Stranger Than Fiction

http://www.seemagazine.com/article/music/music-feature/stranger-than-fiction-4434/

Fresh documentary examines the wild and crazy life of Jim Morrisson

Published July 15, 2010
by Curtis Wright

Save for the opening scene, and the other fictional 'flashbacks'
which awkwardly pop up throughout, The Doors documentary, When You're
Strange, starts off with a hippie bang. Vintage images of JFK,
Vietnam and, more importantly to this particular film/band,
peace-waving video of the very counter culture that paved the flower
garden for The Doors is narrated over by a very passionate and
amusingly sedate, Johnny Depp. As Depp describes the scene of the
1960's with lively detail, we are swept away into an era of young
generation that would embrace the legendary band.

And like anything you'll read or watch about the band, Jim Morrison
is the absolute, colourful focus of the film, which is ultimately a
tad discouraging. His mysterious off-stage words are heard nearly as
much as Depp's narration, and, with this, Morrison's sinewy image is
pressed further into rock and roll's frontman-centric psyche. I
suppose we can all see the appeal of Morrison and his historically
tripped out ways and, I suppose, in many ways Morrison is the
ultimate rock frontman: confident, brash, misunderstood, wild,
uninterested, and continuously on 'five sheets of high-powered
blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy
of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers'…you get the
idea. However, the concentration on Morrison as a man and an icon
leaves the other members in the dark and creates the illusion where
it becomes more about an image, and less about the entire band's
music. Surely you'll draw your own conclusions here.

Director Tom DiCillo's fortune lies in the raw, before-unseen,
archival footage that luridly displays the band throughout their wild
journey to stardom (which for obvious reasons focused mainly on the
stardom, not the journey). And for someone young enough to not
remember those days, it's always nice to watch something that your
parents grew up with (and wonder what exactly they were up to in
their youthful days). Like, for instance, the classic Ed Sullivan
appearance where the famous host requested that Morrison not mention
how he and a now legendary female couldn't get much higher.

When You're Strange is an absolute must for fans of the 'frenzied
trapeze artist,' Jim Morrison first, Doors fans second and third,
anyone who cannot get enough of rock history. As the pulses of Ray
Manzarek's stunning keyboard work (especially the way he created a
bassline in their songs), the insanely jazz-inspired drums of John
Densmore, and the fuzzy guitar work of Robby Krieger float through
the film, you're reminded of just how remarkable the support of
Morisson's flamboyant, ego-driven persona and wild poetry really was.
The Doors are completely synonymous with Jim Morrison, which is a bit
much, but unfortunately he was and is the only real draw for
many. When it's not an entirely dedicated Jim Morrison spectacle,
When You're Strange is full of significant footage and famously
acidic band performances ­­­ and when these shine through, it's great.

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