Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt (2004) 6/10
I'm sorry, I wish I had better things to say about this. Townes is certainly an interesting person and while I don't see what's so special about his music it's not bad and was certainly highly regarded by some. The documentary didn't do much to make me go beyond this superficial appreciation, though, and I think there are two main reasons. One is the editing: It's mostly talking heads and old footage, and while this can work if done right there's not much flow here. Despite following a mostly chronological order I often felt bogged down in anecdotes that felt random and unconnected. There were also a lot of people talking about what a great writer he was, but very little is done to actually make that come through. I suppose that wouldn't be a problem for a fan who already feels that way, but having never heard of him before I just never got the sense of a great musician from either the stories or the actual footage of him. The second issue I'll admit is mostly my own. While he certainly had some bad breaks in his life, it's mostly the story of a man pissing his talent and opportunities away through drugs and booze and while I can feel sorry for him that's just something I can't relate to in even the most superficial way. Maybe if we got a sense of personal pain and emotional turmoil that drove him to it I could find a thread to connect, but, at least as depicted in the film, it seems mostly to be irresponsibility and lack of concern about the future, his life or those around him. So as a whole there just wasn't a point of contact for the film to resonate with me. It's not bad, just not for me.