Metallica: Some Kind of Monster

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster - ***1/2

Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky's "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" is a gritty documentary that pulls no punches, in turn doing a greater service to the band being examined. The film follows Metallica members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett through the arduous process of recording the band's 2003 album St. Anger, including their numerous group therapy sessions as well as James' rehab stint and bass player Jason Newstead's sudden departure. What I really like about this film is how effective the human drama goes over. At the top of the food chain, if you will, are James and Lars, the two remaining original band members. Their egos come into conflict recurrently throughout the film, and when James goes into rehab, Lars seems to feel more inconvenienced than concerned. Somewhere below them in influence is producer Bob Rock, the man who has shaped the band's sound over the past 10 years, for better or for worse. Phil Towle, the band's therapist, is brought in to manage these egos, and frequently chimes in on band issues, even the music related ones. At the bottom of this chain is Kirk Hammett, the virtuoso guitarist who so effectively replaced Dave Mustaine in 1983. The most poignant line in the film is when James is complaining of feeling that everything is out of his hands and that Lars is in charge, to which Kirk replies "To me, that just sounds like the past 15 years". Interesting human drama along with kick ass rock music make this one of the best documentaries of last year. Thumbs up.