METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER
Film REVIEW
If one were to attempt to personify the iconographic heavy metal band Metallica (you can find the live wallpapers with Metallica follow this link), the literary monster Frankenstein would not be a bad choice. Comprised of disparate and at least vaguely dysfunctional parts, Victor’s monster somehow finds a way to survive despite his dysfunctional and sometimes destructive nature. As directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (Paradise Lost) show in Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, the most successful heavy metal band in the world is a monster unto itself, but it is a monster that can create beautiful things when the disparate parts can find a way to operate in harmony.
The film opens on a distinctly disharmonious note. The band has not released a studio album in five years, rumors are in the air of the band breaking up, longtime bassist Jason Newstead has left for greener pastures, and creatively, the rockers appear stymied. If Metallica is considered a monster of rock, they hardly appear threatening in the opening minutes of the film. The formerly rebellious rockers almost seem docile. Gone is the debauchery of years past replaced with wives, children, and domesticity. Perhaps exacerbating the situation is drummer Lars Ulrich’s battle with Napster which ultimately results in the alienation of numerous diehard fans.
Fatigued, fragmented, and fucked up, Metallica comes frightfully close to the precipice of complete disintegration. In a bold move, the group decides to engage in group therapy in a perhaps futile attempt to keep the band together. Phil Towle is hired on as the group’s therapist/performance enhancement coach. Berlinger and Sinofsky train their cameras on the musicians as they fumble their way towards the completion of their long awaited album, St. Anger.
It is these very fumblings that make up the meat of Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. It becomes evident all too quickly that Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, and James Hetfield don’t know each other very well and consequently, have little ability to understand each other. While initially skeptical of Towle’s techniques and the group therapy process, all three members come to recognize that therapy may very well be the only thing that can prevent the band from falling apart. Ulrich and Hammett struggle during rehearsals, Hetfield battles his inner demons and alcoholism, and all the while the fate of the band and the imminent album hangs in the balance.
Berlinger and Sinofsky take the audience along for every intimate step of the convoluted and bumpy ride. Vividly captured are the doubts, fears, and insecurities of each member of the band. Rather than merely capturing and glorifying the creation of Metallica’s latest album (the original premise of the film), Berlinger and Sinofsky elect to dive much deeper into this monster, shedding light on the band’s foibles and self-flagellations. Far from being a glossy episode of Behind the Music merely charting a band’s trials and travails, this film provides striking insights into what defines Metallica and the men who comprise the band.
These revealing insights enable the film to succeed. Berlinger and Sinofsky manage to get the band members to lower their guard and reveal themselves in a way that makes them appear flawed, real, and ultimately, endearing. Hetfield, Hammett, and Ulrich are three talented, troubled, and persevering artists who are committed to doing what’s best for the band. It is refreshing to see three artists with this level of success compromise their individual egos and aspirations for the betterment of the larger whole. Metallica is indeed some kind of monster, but if Berlinger and Sinofsky’s documentary is any indication, it is a monster more than capable of keeping its disparate parts together.
METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER
Film REVIEW
If one were to attempt to personify the iconographic heavy metal band Metallica (you can find the live wallpapers with Metallica follow this link), the literary monster Frankenstein would not be a bad choice. Comprised of disparate and at least vaguely dysfunctional parts, Victor’s monster somehow finds a way to survive despite his dysfunctional and sometimes destructive nature. As directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (Paradise Lost) show in Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, the most successful heavy metal band in the world is a monster unto itself, but it is a monster that can create beautiful things when the disparate parts can find a way to operate in harmony.
The film opens on a distinctly disharmonious note. The band has not released a studio album in five years, rumors are in the air of the band breaking up, longtime bassist Jason Newstead has left for greener pastures, and creatively, the rockers appear stymied. If Metallica is considered a monster of rock, they hardly appear threatening in the opening minutes of the film. The formerly rebellious rockers almost seem docile. Gone is the debauchery of years past replaced with wives, children, and domesticity. Perhaps exacerbating the situation is drummer Lars Ulrich’s battle with Napster which ultimately results in the alienation of numerous diehard fans.
Fatigued, fragmented, and fucked up, Metallica comes frightfully close to the precipice of complete disintegration. In a bold move, the group decides to engage in group therapy in a perhaps futile attempt to keep the band together. Phil Towle is hired on as the group’s therapist/performance enhancement coach. Berlinger and Sinofsky train their cameras on the musicians as they fumble their way towards the completion of their long awaited album, St. Anger.
It is these very fumblings that make up the meat of Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. It becomes evident all too quickly that Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, and James Hetfield don’t know each other very well and consequently, have little ability to understand each other. While initially skeptical of Towle’s techniques and the group therapy process, all three members come to recognize that therapy may very well be the only thing that can prevent the band from falling apart. Ulrich and Hammett struggle during rehearsals, Hetfield battles his inner demons and alcoholism, and all the while the fate of the band and the imminent album hangs in the balance.
Berlinger and Sinofsky take the audience along for every intimate step of the convoluted and bumpy ride. Vividly captured are the doubts, fears, and insecurities of each member of the band. Rather than merely capturing and glorifying the creation of Metallica’s latest album (the original premise of the film), Berlinger and Sinofsky elect to dive much deeper into this monster, shedding light on the band’s foibles and self-flagellations. Far from being a glossy episode of Behind the Music merely charting a band’s trials and travails, this film provides striking insights into what defines Metallica and the men who comprise the band.
These revealing insights enable the film to succeed. Berlinger and Sinofsky manage to get the band members to lower their guard and reveal themselves in a way that makes them appear flawed, real, and ultimately, endearing. Hetfield, Hammett, and Ulrich are three talented, troubled, and persevering artists who are committed to doing what’s best for the band. It is refreshing to see three artists with this level of success compromise their individual egos and aspirations for the betterment of the larger whole. Metallica is indeed some kind of monster, but if Berlinger and Sinofsky’s documentary is any indication, it is a monster more than capable of keeping its disparate parts together.
