Review: Metallica: Some Kind of Monster

Turns out, Some Kind of Monster isn’t so such a “rock ‘n’ roll movie” as much as it is two hours of couple’s therapy.

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
Photo: IFC Films

Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s Metallica: Some Kind of Monster is ostensibly a look at the trepidation and uncertainty with which the titular heavy metal band began to look at the world after their split with long-time bassist Jason Newsted. And while you’re unlikely to leave the film with a better understanding of founding members James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich as musicians, you’ll certainly glean tha they’re, well, just like you and me.

Turns out, Some Kind of Monster isn’t so such a “rock ‘n’ roll movie” as much as it is two hours of couple’s therapy, and one that’s intimate to a fault. After Newsted’s departure, the band had a difficult time recording their album St. Anger, in part due to Hetfield’s ongoing struggle with alcohol and Ulrich’s battle with Napster. It was at this point that Metallica hired a therapist to help them conquer their inner demons, and Berlinger and Sinofsky were there to chronicle just how difficult it was for the members of the group to play nice with one another.

Some Kind of Monster is frequently funny and has a few stand-out moments that address the interaction between psychology and creativity and the relationship between the documentary filmmaker and the subject. But confidentiality is the core of a patient/therapist relationship, which is something that the film betrays the moment it plops us in the same room with Metallica and Phil Towle, the “therapist/performance enhancement coach” hired by Q-Prime’s management team to teach the band to “treasure every moment.” It also reeks of P.R.—an egocentric justification for the troubles the band has gone through since Newsted’s split and an apologia for fans still angry at Ulrich for going ape-shit against file-sharers.

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There’s a moment in the film where Berlinger and Sinofsky force a fascinating correlation between the paintings that hang in Ulrich’s home and the music the band makes, calling attention to the relationship between art and the spectator and the way that art is consumed. This scene has absolutely nothing to do with the psych sessions between Metallica and Towle, and it’s a great one, and it’s obvious that Berlinger and Sinofsky see the irony of a man who makes $5 million at Christies after dogging fans for illegally downloading overpriced music.

Some Kind of Monster could have benefited from more focus on this economic disconnect between Metallica and their fans (immortalized in John Heyn and Jeff Krulik’s popular short Heavy Metal Parking Lot). Hetfield’s troubles with booze certainly engender sympathy, but when he reveals that the band is spending $40,000 a month on counseling in order to figure out ways to get into “the zone,” you may just wish for him to get over himself.

Score: 
 Cast: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, Jason Newsted, Dave Mustaine, Cliff Burton, Bob Rock, Phil Towle, Torben Ulrich  Director: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky  Distributor: IFC Films  Running Time: 139 min  Rating: NR  Year: 2004  Buy: Video, Soundtrack

Ed Gonzalez

Ed Gonzalez is the co-founder of Slant Magazine. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle, his writing has appeared in The Village Voice, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications.

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