By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Bill Benz
Starring: Annie Clark | Carrie Brownstein | Chris Aquilino | Drew Connick | Ezra Buzzington | St. Vincent | Toko Yasuda
Country: united_states
Year: 2021
Running time: 91
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10441822/reference
Michael says: “Annie Clark, the woman who most people know better as St. Vincent, is known for her boundary-pushing, genre-bending rock and roll. When she performs under her persona of St. Vincent, does she become a different person than Annie? Do all performers, to a certain extent have different personas that they put on at appropriate times, at the risk of losing their own true identity? Clark and co-writer/co-star Carrie Brownstein explore this theme in an amusing and confounding film that takes Clark’s life and fictionalizes it to what degree, only those around her know. In the film, Clark decides to have her friend, founding member of the riot girl band, Sleater-Kinney, and writer/director/co-developer of the sketch comedy show, Portlandia direct a concert film that contrasts her true persona with that of her performing persona, St. Vincent. She expresses her desire to just capture her life off-stage in its reality. Brownstein is all-in, but it soon becomes clear, that Annie Clark is a rather dull subject — not even her touring band can come up with interesting things to say about her. Eschewing the rock & roll lifestyle she’d rather play board games or turn in early after a show. Brownstein pushes Clark to bring some of her St. Vincent persona into her off-stage life for the documentary, but when she ultimately gets what she asked for, it’s not something she is able to fully deal with as Clark’s ‘true personality’ evidently retreats allowing St. Vincent full reign.
“As written by Clark and Brownstein, and directed by Bill Benz, Brownstein’s co-director and co-developer of Portlandia, THE NOWHERE INN is funny, challenging, artistic, and perhaps goes a little too far in all those directions. Things get a little muddled, creatively, when St. Vincent takes over fully, and amusing moments go on just a little too long, such as when Clark stops in her home state of Texas, and invents an entire family and celebratory gathering, including a bizarre sing-along that goes on just a shade too long. Clark and Brownstein also get a little too artsy in a couple of David Lynchian moments that make the point of art vs. life and the blurry line between them, but perhaps are a little too vague to connect well. Clark and Brownstein also have such disparate acting styles that it was hard to tell if that face enhanced, or muddied the film overall. Still, the concert sequences are outstanding, and the production design is top notch, and if you’re a fan of St. Vincent, it’s worth a shot. 3 1/2 cats”
Chris says: “Faux doc that’s more formally satisfying than a concert doc or even a profile doc might’ve been, although the concert footage provides all the highlights (along with the ‘family’ singalong.) It fully turns into a David Lynch film in the last 15 minutes; I wouldn’t have minded if it had done so much earlier. 3 cats“