‘Hi. How are you?’
The cliché of the tortured artist is a dangerous one. Vincent van Gogh. Brian Wilson. Kurt Cobain. These men created some of the greatest art the world has ever known. But at what cost? Daniel Johnston is not a household name, but he is tortured, and he is a genius. A unique mind who has been to the depths of hell and now reflects that in his art. The Devil and Daniel Johnston is his story…
Armed with hours of archive footage and reels of interviews with people that know Johnston personally, writer-director Jeff Feuerzeig presents a compelling and troubling image of a singular talent. For those not familiar with Daniel Johnston, he is a songwriter and artist who emerged out of Austin, Texas and was championed by bands as influential as Sonic Youth, Nirvana and Bright Eyes. And yet, his rough studio recordings and abrasive songwriting style probably ensure that he will never break into the mainstream. Which, of course, is a good thing.
When music documentaries are good (think Searching for Sugarman or Dig!), they aren’t just about the music. The Devil and Daniel Johnston finds time to feature much of Johnston’s incredible music prominently, but never at the expense of the story of the man himself. This is a study of mental health and familial relationships just as much as it is a documentary about music, and it is all of these disparate elements together that ensure that Feurerzeig’s film is a hall of famer in the music documentary genre. A beautiful film about a beautiful soul.