Tom DiCillo’s film is not so much about The Doors as about Jim Morrison, one of rock’s most potent icons, who died at 27 from drink and drugs.
Its chief virtue, apart from uncovering unseen footage, is that it relates his poetry and lyrics to the troubled zeitgeist of the late Sixties and early Seventies. The emergence of radicalism — eventually snuffed out by Nixon and his cohorts — and the triumph of consumer capitalism are given almost as much weight (commentary by Johnny Depp) as the band’s success in tapping into them, sometimes leading the way.
The film’s point is that neither Morrison nor The Doors ever sold out. If the singer was on autopilot towards self-destruction, you get the feeling that he had his reasons. The Doors just wanted to make relevant music and did so.
When You're Strange: A Film About The Doors
Cert: 15
