Kurt & Courtney

Nick Broomfield tries to clarify that absurd theory that says that Kurt Cobain was murdered. No one would actually believe that Kurt was killed because it is quite clear that his addiction and his depression killed him.

Anyway, Broomfield lets everyone to make their point, all those that defend the conspiration theory. But let me tell you, some of them, just like Courtney Love's father or that grotesque guy called The Duce are not reliable sources precisely.

Maybe Nick goes too far accusing Courtney. I mean, she's not Mother Theresa, but she isn't the root of all evil either. She's nothing but an arrogant and eccentric rockstar... just like most of people there in Hollywood.

Otherwise, "Who killed Kurt...?" has valious moments for all the fans of Kurt: early recordings, interviews with some of his relatives and childhood friends...

*My rate: 6/10

As a hopeless britfreak/anglophile, I am a fan of documentarian Nick Broomfield. However, I have only seen three of his films. For some reason, the majority of his films don't seem to be available for rent.

I enjoyed Kurt & Courtney. The film's hype seemed to laughably imply that 'Courtney did it'!in regards to Kurt's demise. Okay, she does have a slight anger management problem, but that's beside the point.

The implication seemed to be that she hired someone to off Kurt. But, the film goes off in other directions, and outshines the sensationalistic hype.

The low key Broomfield gently and intelligently guides his subjects; they let down their guard; they humorously reveal themselves and their versions of the truth.

At times, Broomfield's films make one feel like a rubbernecker perusing a car accident; like a TV viewer watching America's Most Shocking Videos; sometimes we just cannot help ourselves.

Kurt's tragic life and personal demons are revealed, as are Courtney's. Family, friends, and people in the Seattle grunge music scene are interviewed. A murder plot of sorts is investigated. Courtney's antagonism towards mainstream media is explored.

I found Kurt & Courtney to be fascinating and entertaining.

I heard somewhere that Courtney Love tried like the dickens to get this little documentary banned. If there is no truth to it, why would she care so much? Makes you think...

Nick Bloomfield interviews people a courtroom wouldn't consider reliable witnesses- El Duce, for one- a singer who was one bizarre addict himself. He claims Love offered him $50,000 to kill Cobain. Looking at this guy, you automatically rely on his testimony like your local weather report. Still, it is very interesting that weeks after this interview, El Duce was found dead on the railroad tracks by his home. An investigor who was at Cobain's "suicide" scene claims Cobain had way too much heroin in his system to be coherent enough to pull a trigger on himself with any accuracy. Cobain's Aunt claims the whole conspiracy theory is a load of bunk, and she feels Kurt had suicidal tendencies as well as addictions. Yet most of the people interviewed agree that Courtney was a vindictive slag, jealous of Cobain's success and tried to hitch her wagon to Nirvana's rising star (memories of Courtney and Kurt on the cover of the now defunked "Sassy" magazine, with Courtney trying to portray herself has the Nancy Spungen of the '90's comes to mind). I've never been a big Love or "Hole" fan, mainly because I don't think Love is that talented a musician or singer. I feel she has what they call "delusions of grandure", which is why this documentary, for as shaky as the evidence presented is, makes me wonder if it isn't the naked truth.

Kurt & Courtney (1998)

*** (out of 4)

Nick Broomfield's controversial documentary on the suicide of Kurt Cobain and the conspiracy theories around whether or not Courtney Love had him murdered. This is an incredibly strange documentary that has "witnesses" that no lawyer in the world would put on the stand but at the same time there's no question that the film will keep you glued to what you're watching. It's hard to say how much truth is found in this documentary or if everything here is nothing more that cruel gossip but I must say that it's rather obvious that Broomfield hates Love. There are a lot of problems with this documentary with the main one being Broomfield's attacks on Love at every chance he gets. It's clear he wants to know whether or not Love killed Cobain but I think there are quite a few cheap shots taken at her. The director is constantly saying how he wanted to use certain music but Love wouldn't allow it. Well, duh. Any music rights owner isn't going to let you freely use something so considering this film ran out of backers it's clear that they wouldn't have had the money to buy the music even if they were for sale. There's an episode at the end when the director could have asked her a question but didn't and instead gets on a stage and does it in public. Another cheap shot. With that said, the murder conspiracy is just something hard to wrap your brain around. Even if it was true, the witnesses here are cracked out heroin addicts so it's really hard to take what they say as the truth. You could argue that Kurt and Courtney were a part of this crowd, which I guess would be fair but I do wonder what motive some of these people had. It's clear that Love's father hates his daughter so his motives are certain. Others claim that they're terrified of Love yet they come out and say she murdered Kurt. No matter what your opinion on the truth is, it's hard to take any real evidence out of this documentary.

Why this film was bad:

As a film that seemed like it was going to shed some light on the death of Kurt Cobain, it failed miserably. Nothing new about that subject appeared.

Why I liked it:

Almost everyone in this film seemed like a cartoon character ... if I didn't know this was a documentary, I would have thought this was a parody of one. *Almost* everyone seemed incredibly ridiculous: El Duce (the man apparently approached by Love to kill Cobain), ex-groupies, the nanny, Love's ex-lover, and the paparazzi who appear from time to time (especially the one with ridiculous mask over his head to protect his identity). Even Nick Broomfield, the director of the film, seems like a little bit strange ... this almost seems like a documentary that would take place in the world of one of David Lynch's films. In this respect, it is entertaining, and funny.