DVD Reviews

Last Days

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Asia Argento
• Details: US, 97 mins, 15A.

Director Gus Van Sant manages to outdo himself since his last offering Elephant. Here he has made an even more pointless film than its vacant, pretty boy predecessor. The resourcefully titled Last Days is loosely based on the last days of Kurt Cobain. Main character Blake (a thinly disguised KC) is a lonesome, incoherent melthead who stumbles about mumbling to himself. The actor playing Kurt looks the part - from a distance. The actor playing Kurt takes a swim. The actor playing Kurt camps out. The actor playing Kurt digs a hole in the ground. Background noises consist of church bells and chiming clocks, spelling it out for us that Blake is going crazy and soon for the next plane. Various people call to the door illuminating how misunderstood Blake is against the backdrop of commercial music and Christian America. Early on Blake manages to mutter that 'success is subjective' which is about as much as can be made out. Yeah Gus, we get it, the sound is down to painfully point out that no one is hearing Blake properly. But you are demanding much too much from your audience and not coming up with the goods. In fairness to Van Sant, he has a great eye and manages to recreate the unforgettable iconography and fragility of the late great Nirvana front man, right down to the body bag. However laboured symbolism and meaningless 'meaningful' non-events don't capture the genius and despair of the man. Fans stick to your old videos of Nirvana Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! (exclamation marks were big in the 90s) and MTV Unplugged in New York.

Review by Elaine Reilly