Montage of Heck is the title of tape recorded by Kurt Cobain in his teenage years. It’s now also the title of Brett Morgen’s newest documentary, which focuses on the life of the person who would ultimately turn into one of the 20th century most iconic pop idol.
Through a collaboration with Kurt’s daughter Frances, Morgen was given unprecedented access to the raw material left behind by Cobain: pictures, footage, notebooks. Most of this had not been read or listened to since they had been written or recorded by Kurt himself. Morgen also got hold of video archives from Kurt’s very childhood, back in the 68~69 years. He then proceeded to interview Kurt’s family and friends: both parents, his stepmother, his sister and his teenage girlfriend… Krist Novoselic and Courtney Love are also part of this.
For the parts he didn’t have any footage for, Morgen turned to animation. This is a truly bold move but it fits entirely with the storytelling of the film. You can see Kurt thrown from a home to another at a time he was seeking stability. You can see him write and compose the Nevermind songs in the small apartment he shared with his then girlfriend.
In cases where the source material comes from the notebooks, Morgen animated the writing and the doodles drawn by Cobain, letting the words and pictures twirl around and come to life and depict Kurt’s state of mind at the time. David Geffen’s number may appear between a sentence alluding to the abortion of the Christ and a map of the neighborhood in which Nirvana would play later that day.
Mini-spoiler alert: do not expect to see Dave Grohl speaking in this film. This was actually the very first question asked in the Q&A and the director replied jokingly:
Really? He’s not in there? Did anybody else notice?
He then proceeded to explain his intention was to make a movie about Kurt and not about Nirvana. Of course, the two are inextricably intertwined but the focus on Kurt’s close entourage proves invaluable to better understand his persona independently of his musical success. Even though Dave is a integral part of Nirvana, he’s first and foremost a professional musician, a modern-era rock star with ethics and a passion. Krist, however, was Kurt’s best friend.
Montage of Heck is in a league of its own. It’s simply something that was never done or attempted before – and anything else coming after will have a very hard time to top it. The combination of intent, focus and passion makes it a remarkable documentary about one man’s life: one of genius, influence and ruin.