Gus Van Sant's Last Days Ain't No Nirvana

It's not supposed to be about Kurt Cobain. Gus Van Sant's (Elephant, My Own Private Idaho) "Last Days" is a story about a fictional character that closely resembles Cobain and the last few days of his life. We're supposed to believe it is similar to "8 Mile," in which Eminem plays a semi-autobiographical character nicknamed Rabbit. Kurt Cobain is not in this movie, though. His family is not affiliated with the movie, nor are the surviving members of his band, Nirvana. 

There is something eerie about the fact that someone wrote a screenplay about Kurt Cobain's suicide, but changed names. Michael Pitt plays "Blake," the lead role who looks like Kurt and sings similarly. The wardrobe team clearly went out of their way to design outfits for the dirty grunge boy that are strikingly similar to Kurt's attire - Nirvana trite. Big sunglasses, Elmer Fudd hats. Shotgun, heroin.

The script, if there even was one was extremely lacking due to the fact that 99% of what Blake uttered was in this mumbling, inaudible murmur. Halfway through I turned the captions on and I could read the things he said, but they weren't that interesting. The entire movie is this sad, ethereal documentation of a sick man's decline. We watch him stumble around, settling into his suicide. It isn't the sort of sad that makes you want to cry, it's something akin to seeing a trainwreck. You can't stop staring, secretly wondering if you'll catch a glimpse of blood in some detatched, voyeuristic dread and longing.