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Director:
Joe Berlinger
Bruce Sinofsky

Starring:
Lars Ulrich
James Hetfield
Kirk Hammett
Bob Rock
Phil Towle
Jason Newsted
Dave Mustaine
Robert Trujillo

Release: 9 Jul. 04
IMDb

Having used their music for Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, documentary filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky were able to get full access to Metallica as the band prepared for their latest album, St. Anger. It seems like a perfect opportunity to get the documentary of a lifetime, especially as the group goes through constant set backs, including replacing its bassist and the drug rehabilitation for its lead guitarist. But Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, like the album it documents, is a mixed bag, often overshadowing its moments of incite with inanities.

What they do succeed at even in their worst moments, is to humanize the band. Not knowing their work terribly well, I felt a bond with many of the musicians as the film continued. Although he’s been villianized by many former fans for his outspoken opposition to Napster, drummer Lars Ulrich brings an especially satisfying personality to the film. His boyish looks seem to contrast his outbursts, and his attempts to philosophize over the bands evident self-destruction are especially engaging. Even when he’s worried over the sale of his Basquiat, an action that might seem ridiculous to those who wouldn’t fork over $50 for a good Basquiat print, his own personality rings true, and the his own love for the painting comes across as sincere. But he’s willing to admit that the dark paintings represent the cynicism of his past 10 years, not the hope for this father of two.

The depth with which Berlinger and Sinofsky attain isn’t particularly comparable to what the band members offer. Even when they venture into the band’s problems, the directors choose to oversimplify them: their news excerpts are mostly from MTV News, and not even Kurt Loder, but Sway and Gideon Yago’s low-on-the-totem-poll reporting. They are clearly walking ground they barely know -- the rock documentary -- and it shows. Even though their band, whose artistic merits I’ve often questioned, seem more than game, the two men want more than anything to treat it like a great exposé. There’s nothing new to Metallica found in Some Kind of Monster, just the recognition that behind the cacophony of sounds are real men with real issues too heavy for MTV to care about.