still water runs deep

so what movie did i rent? Last Days by Gus Van Sant, the director of the Columbine movie "Elephant."

when i rented it i didn't know what to expect. earlier this year it received terrible reviews when released. i knew it was loosely based on the 'last days' of kurt cobain's life, and that it was an 'art' film, and really didn't think it would be that good--i thought it would be hokey, surface, and just trying to hitch itself to the legend of cobain.

i have to say that to watch this movie one must:

1. be a big fan of nirvana.
2. have read widely about kurt cobain's life, his last year of life, and his emotional life.

if you don't have these two requirements, Last Days will be lost on you and you'll die of boredom. nothing in the movie will make sense to you, except some of the shots and costumes.

if you have the two requirements above, and are in a certain mood, this movie will make sense to you. you'll be amazed at van sant's attention to detail not only the surface stuff, but the darker emotional themes underlying them.

michael pitt, who stars as the rock star "blake" channel's kurt cobain dead on. more than the clothing and the hair, his mostly silent interpretation of this person's painful last few days on earth is painful to watch. his character is uncomfortable to watch as you know what he will eventually do. the movie doesn't show any scenes of drug use, nor the actual suicide, so the viewer is unsure where blake's madness comes from, but the mumbling with a few audible comments, the body movements, and the stare, speak of personal emotion distress that i think few could imagine.

pitt also channels cobain in two musical interludes, and does a fantastic job of conveying deep soulful emotional pain in the only way he could express it--thru music.

the movie is sprinkled with details many will miss. one is of the mention of being on 'bended knee". in one scene the video for Boyz II Men's "On Bended Knee" plays on a TV while blake succumbs to some inner demons. another scene shows his "friends" listening to Velvet Underground's "Venus in Furs" with the "bended knee" line mouthed by a listener. i think the juxtiposition of these two songs is deliberate. both lyrics contain relevant lines that pertain to the movie's themes:

Boyz II Men "On Bended Knee"

Darlin’ I can’t explain
Where did we lose our way
Girl it’s drivin’ me insane
And I know I just need one more chance
To prove my love to you
If you come back to me
I’ll gurantee
That I’ll never let you go

Chorus:
Can we go back to the days when our love was strong
Can you tell me how a perfect love goes wrong
Can somebody tell me how to get things back
They way they use to be
Oh God give me a reason
I’m down on bended knee
I’ll never walk again until you come back to me
I’m down on bended knee

So many nights I dream of you
Holding my pillow tight
I know that I don’t need to be alone
I open up my eyes
To face reality
Every moment without you
It seems like eternity
I’m begging you, begging you come back to me

Chorus

Mike’s monolauge:
Baby, I’m sorry
Please forgive me for all the wrong I’ve done
Please come back home girl
I know you put all your trust in me
I’m sorry I let you down
Please forgive me

Gonna swallow my pride
Say I’m sorry
Stop pointing fingers the blame is on me
I want a new life
And I want it with you
If you feel the same
Don’t ever let it go
You gotta believe in the spirt of love
It can heal all things
We won’t hurt anymore
No I don’t believe our love’s terminal
I’m down on my knees begging you please
Come home

Velvet Underground "Venus in Furs"

Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather
Whiplash girlchild in the dark
Clubs and bells, your servant, don’t forsake him
Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart

Downy sins of streetlight fancies
Chase the costumes she shall wear
Ermine furs adorn the imperious
Severin, severin awaits you there

I am tired, I am weary
I could sleep for a thousand years
A thousand dreams that would awake me
Different colors made of tears

Kiss the boot of shiny, shiny leather
Shiny leather in the dark
Tongue of thongs, the belt that does await you
Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart

Severin, severin, speak so slightly
Severin, down on your bended knee
Taste the whip, in love not given lightly
Taste the whip, now plead for me

I am tired, I am weary
I could sleep for a thousand years
A thousand dreams that would awake me
Different colors made of tears

Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather
Whiplash girlchild in the dark
Severin, your servant comes in bells, please don’t forsake him
Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart

being on one's knees can be interpreted as praying, begging, submission, all acts of a sort of "surrender". the two lyrics couldn't be more different in who they address, one is sweet, talking about going back to better times and being in love, the other is a monologue also of love, but a darker connotation of love in a sense of power, control, slave, servant issues. both are about relationships out of balance, one the lighter side, the other much darker.

"On Bended Knee" also mentions putting the blame back on the person singing the song [shades of "All Apologies"?] and the second song talks about servants "serving" their master [relating to "Serve the Servants"?]. Many of Cobain's songs mention relationships that are completely out of balance--where the control rests outside of the singer's hands, as they deal with serving the "other".

Since Courtney Love wouldn't have possibly allowed a more realistic interpretation of her husband's last days, nor provide permission to use his music, i think using these songs [and the Boys II Men video] was clever to say the least.

i think the director did his homework for this movie--not only visually [pitt's Blake, his clothing, etc, the session room, etc] but seeding this movie with deeper murky emotional cues that can be noticed only if you've read more about Cobain.

I think the movie received bad reviews because many didn't understand the context. blake has no character development here--he's already done and has made his decision to end his life. all the movie shows are hints as to why he might do what he ends up completing.

the phone book salesman -- blake lets him in and listens passively. a year ago he took out an ad--did he do it to please the salesman? will he renew it? this shows blake's lack of personal boundaries and his people pleaser nature.

his "friends" -- they only approach him when in need of something, advice about writing a song, or for money. they aren't his friends, they're leeches that have helped suck him dry.

the mormans -- coming to the house to explain the christian interpretation of Christ's sacrifice is a scene very loaded with all sorts of meanings.

the detective and friend -- grant and dylan carson made two visit's to cobains home looking for him in those last days. the movie shows blake running and hiding during both visits--speculation is that cobain did the same in real life. he'd already made up his mind about what he'd do.

the older woman -- she asks blake about his daughter and apologizing to her for becoming a rock 'cliche'. is the woman a representation of cobain's mother, wendy, who said kurt had gone a 'joined that stupid club' the one populated by cliches such as hendrix, morrison, and joplin? was she a symbol of many female influences in his life, all of them trying to provide nurturing and protection? it doesn't matter since she leaves without blake anyway.

i give this effort 4 out of 5 stars. but i'm a big nirvana fan and have read extensively on cobain's life. this isn't an entertainment movie, but a meditation on someone's deep emotional crisis. if you're into that sort of thing, rent this, you won't be disappointed.