This warm-hearted profile of the US grunge-rockers doubles as a poignant rumination on friendship and personal growth – but gets its heft from the unpolished performance footage
Delving into the legacy of US rockers Dinosaur Jr, this dynamic documentary beautifully balances the giddiness of a fan and the warmth of a close friend. Such deftness is perhaps due to the fact that director Philipp Virus is the brother-in-law of J Mascis, who, along with Lou Barlow and Murph, made up the band’s original lineup. It is a portrait of a groundbreaking period in
American music that also doubles as a poignant rumination on friendship and personal growth.
Formed in the mid-1980s, the original trio – two of whom were high-school
Friends – had a ragged wildness, straddling heavy metal and punk rock. Reserved and shy offstage, the three members were uncomfortable with the social side of the music business. Nevertheless, in spite of a slow start, Dinosaur Jr gradually moved from the underground to be more commercially viable, touring with the likes of Sonic Youth and Nirvana. With success, however, came creative compromises and internal conflicts, triggering the departure of Barlow and Murph.