Direction: Julien Temple
Country: UK
I was never a big fan of The Pogues, but I remember to have read interesting stories about its frontman, the rebellious Irish punk Shane MacGowan, who is the subject of this engrossing documentary directed by the British director Julien Temple (The Filth and the Fury, 2000; London: the Modern Babylon, 2012).
The title of the film partly stems from the novel by the Irish writer James Stephens, which already had lent its name to the sophomore album of MacGowan’s post-Pogues band, The Popes, while the few rounds certainly takes my mind to his long-lasting alcohol addiction. The singer/songwriter talks about his childhood, spent at a farmhouse in Tipperary, Ireland, where he started to drink at the age six. He also weighs in on the IRA and the Irish War of Independence, his nervous breakdowns, acid trips, heroin and alcohol dependency, lost and regain of faith, his love/hate relationship with England, and many more episodes that made his life so singular.
Expertly structured, the film intertwines conversational segments between MacGowan and the former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams as well as the actor Johnny Depp, terrific animation sequences by the legendary illustrator Ralph Steadman, unseen archive footage from The Pogues in concert, and statements of elucidation by Shane’s sister, Siobhan.
The resulting documentary is a sincere, funny look at the wild life of a poet/musician, who, emerging here as a survivor of all types of excesses (even musical), is brutally honest when dealing with the life he chose and the circumstances that made him who he is. By the way, MacGowan will also be remembered for his oddly contagious laugh.
