Product: Last Days (2 Disc Special Edition)
Rating: 5.0
Brilliant impressionistic tragedy
People, this isn't a fanboy's tribute--this is a painting of a falling genius' tragic spiral. The cinematography is incredible throughout. You are looking for a music video if you are bored by this film, and real life is not a music video. Do you honestly think that Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore would have EVER agreed to contribute to a film that did not portray the realistic unraveling of a musician hooked on heroin who they KNEW and who RESPECTED them as musical heroes? You know NOTHING about Cobain if you don't realize the importance of these inclusions--read who Cobain idolized as a young musician. The problem is too many MTV fanboys and girls watched this movie and they're just not mature enough to understand this work. The scene of "Blake" composing solo is shown through a window, a brilliant decision by Van Sant to show the removal of the artist from public view and the drowning of a soul that is occurring onscreen. Pitt is astounding in this picture, chillingly depicting an artist both trying to escape from everyone and unable to escape from himself. The confusion in his manner, the blasé acceptance and inability of refusal, his desire for contact with friends and at the same time inability to contact, the physicality and slumping and searching, all were masterfully portrayed by Pitt. My few gripes include the other band members watching the news at the end, afraid of implication, and decision to drive to LA on an open road-way. Way too "Good Will Hunting" in view and I didn't think it added anything to the film. The details-the phone book salesman, the Bible twins, the kitten (a desire for tenderness Blake can control)--all seemed just so surreal and fascinating and real. Stop looking for Nevermind on celluloid-this is a dark painting of a true artist in quiet quicksand.