I don’t use drugs, but as I watched The Nowhere Inn, I kept asking myself, “Am I high?” What’s going on? Is this a midnight movie from 1979? In some ways it could be, and, tragically, I am old enough to know. And yet, I think there is absolutely an audience for what they’re calling a “metafictional account of two creative forces banding together to make a documentary about St. Vincent’s music, touring life, and on-stage persona.”
Most of what I know about St. Vincent pertains to my guitar nerd interest in her signature model, which is badass. And I do like her sound and onstage performance vibe (of which we are given fleeting glances), though I couldn’t really name her songs.
But I am interested in any and all music docs, and the tiny bits of this film that might be a real doc make me want to learn much more. Alas, it seems this is a cinematic inside joke not meant for earnestly curious folks like me. In fact, if you’re not already a fan, you’ll learn much more from her Wikipedia Bio than you will from this film.
The good news is that St. Vincent (real name Annie Clark) is a genuine actress, not just a musician. It takes someone with a refined skill in front of the camera to bring the kind of charisma and ease with one’s self that she exudes.
It’s also a good thing that Carrie Brownstein, another musician who’s a bona fide actress, is the other half of this onscreen partnership. She is always a welcome presence – the weird but likeable girl-next-door with the big toothy smile.
So, the set-up is that Brownstein and Clark are playing themselves in a movie that is about, um, them being themselves, making a documentary – Brownstein is the inexperienced director trying to capture the “real” St. Vincent and her life on the road. Get it? So how much of the “real” actresses/musicians are we seeing? Is it all fake? And if it is, shouldn’t you come up with more scenes that would draw the viewer in? Make them lean forward? Or is this meant to watch while leaning back, snickering at the “meta-ness” of it all? That’s a word we didn’t use back in the day: “Meta.”
Shit, I do not know. I like these two. I wonder who they really, really are. Either they don’t want me to know, or they agree that it wouldn’t be much more exciting than playing cards or watching a movie on the bus.
Anyway, here’s Wonderwall
Get Tickets Or Watch at Home: https://www.nowhereinn.movie/
