This was a bit of a letdown after reading/enduring the raw outpouring of emotion in Brett Anderson's two books. However, it does communicate the notions of fun and contentment that Brett's writing mostly lacks. As a lighter look at Suede and their many accomplishments, one could certainly do worse. And the documentary ends on a high note, with their 2010 reunion show at the RAH and subsequent return to recording and touring.
Simon Gilbert's handheld camera archive is the drawing card of the documentary, but most of what we see are fast cut camera edits, with no sense of time and place and action. They're really just a collection of random band photos spanning the first decade or so of Suede's existence. If you're hoping for a fly on the wall, "Don't Look Back" type of capture of the times, it's not here.
I enjoyed the scenes where Brett tours around the neighbourhoods where he grew up and where he lived in London as an adult. This provides air and colour to the sepia scenes that he describes in his books. Justine Frischmann appears on camera and has nothing but good things to say about her time in Suede, she comes across as the wise insider turned outside, the voice of truth in nearly all her scenes. Neil Codling speaks poignantly about his illness in the late 90's and early 00's, and the pain in his eyes is nearly unbearable as he describes the permanent changes in his personality even after "recovering", clearly the trauma of those years has never really gone away.
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