Have you ever heard of Daniel Johnston? Although I consider reletivley knowlegeable about music, I had no knowlege of the ledgendary outsider musician from Texas who critics claim is an equal to The Beatles and Bob Dylan, and is superior to Brian Wilson, until I saw this documentary. The story of Johnston, a serverely mentally ill artist, is interesting, but movie has failed to convince me that he is the genuies that everyone says he is.
This is one of those documentaries that if you didn't know it was true you might expect it was deadpan fake. Johnston was born into a conservative, religious and apparently normal family in West Virginia. He showed early talent in artistic field early, but had trouble fitting in. He was difficult to- refusing to get a job, and, according to the film, prodding his family into arguements with him so he could tape record them and claim he was being persecuted. Recording some demos on a tape recorder in the early 80's, he became a local star in his new home in Texas and seemed to be purged to hit it big when he was hit by depression and delusions. Becoming obsessed with Satan, he turns down a deal with Elektra records because he belevies that they in leauge with the devil, and intentionally crashes a plane his father is flying, never realzing the danger he is in.
Johnston is certainly a facinating figure, but he is only a moderatley talent musician, with a voice reminiscient of Neil Young and a songrwriting style that is like a cross between Lou Reed and Bob Dylan, with the talent of none of the three. Why he inspries such raves are beyond me. His drawings and films, shot on super 8, are not particularly impressive either. I think that what might be appealing to so many about his work is that he is disarmingly straightforward about his personal life, like Henry Darger, he incorprates himself seemlessly into his art. I think this might make his work much more impressive if you knew him personally (as most who rave about him do), but there is not much (from the film anyway) that a stranger connect to it.
Feurerzig does not shirk at showing the negative side of Johnston- he is unable to live on his own and is somewhat of a burden to his friends and family. I particuraly liked the segment featuring a rock critic friend of Daniels who explains that he finds himself torn- all his life, he grew up appreciating eccentric artist like Van Gough or Virginia Woolf, but when Johnston caues him trouble, he doens't want to put up with him. His parents, with who he has lived almost his whole life, come off as saints, and sobering moment near the end of the film occurs when his father states that he is worried that no one will care for Daneil after he dies.
The Devil and Daniel Johnston is certianly worth a look and you will learn a lot about the musician, but a principle flaw of the movie is that it isn't about much else, just a collection of facts. It's worth a look, but just one.
The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2004)