Review of The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006) by Kyle G — 23 May 2012
The longest, scariest commercial for Mountain Dew I've ever seen. No, just kidding -- this is actually a very frank, and sometimes mesmerizing, documentary on the musical genius and bat-shit insanity of the eponymous alt-rocker. Even as it busily cuts through years of biography, not much in his life is left out. And for a living person with a host of troubling issues, that's a remarkable feat of filmmaking.
Still, I spent most of the movie hoping for some clarity on Johnston's music: what makes it special? why do people love him? how and why does he make it? I'm thankful none of those answers came in a tepid VH1-style dump, but to ignore the questions completely is almost as bad.
This review of The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006) was written by Kyle G on 23 May 2012.
The Devil and Daniel Johnston has generally received very positive reviews.
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