Style Weekly
Richmond's alternative for news, arts, culture and opinion
Rental Unit: "Last Days"
fall and relieves himself in its direction.
"Last Days" is less a veiled portrayal of Kurt Cobain than a story inspired by him, making this scene all the more funny. Cobain's every movement as a rock star was taken, often rightly, as kidney relief on convention. This moment is not the only humorous one Van Sant allows to enter the otherwise dark final chapter of young Blake, who wanders around a castle-sized estate amid a group of hangers-on who barely notice him. Whoever this young man is, he's already a ghost by the time we meet him. In fact, the longest conversation he has during the entire film is with a door-to-door ad salesman for the Yellow Pages, who has mistaken him for the owner of an auto-parts store.
Many critics have panned the film while giving the Blake character parallels to Cobain (depression, anxiety about fame, etc.) that are simply not in the film. If anything, the Blake character seems rather happy and sure of himself. It is the people around him who seem lost.
The bottom line is that "Last Days," scant of specifics, does not try very hard to be a biopic. If there is a definitive portrait of Cobain, it is not here. And if it is to be found anywhere, it is probably in his music. "Last Days" considers the man — Blake, that is —long gone before his earthly departure. Any opportunity to get to know him has been missed. — Wayne Melton
"Last Days" is less a veiled portrayal of Kurt Cobain than a story inspired by him, making this scene all the more funny. Cobain's every movement as a rock star was taken, often rightly, as kidney relief on convention. This moment is not the only humorous one Van Sant allows to enter the otherwise dark final chapter of young Blake, who wanders around a castle-sized estate amid a group of hangers-on who barely notice him. Whoever this young man is, he's already a ghost by the time we meet him. In fact, the longest conversation he has during the entire film is with a door-to-door ad salesman for the Yellow Pages, who has mistaken him for the owner of an auto-parts store.
Many critics have panned the film while giving the Blake character parallels to Cobain (depression, anxiety about fame, etc.) that are simply not in the film. If anything, the Blake character seems rather happy and sure of himself. It is the people around him who seem lost.
The bottom line is that "Last Days," scant of specifics, does not try very hard to be a biopic. If there is a definitive portrait of Cobain, it is not here. And if it is to be found anywhere, it is probably in his music. "Last Days" considers the man — Blake, that is —long gone before his earthly departure. Any opportunity to get to know him has been missed. — Wayne Melton
Other Publications
