Tarnation (2004)

Not much to say about this, except that I wasn't bowled over. The frenetic style was too much; I expected it to settle down to a more realistic pace after the hectic opening, but it continued relentlessly and confusingly for the entire film.

Tarnation is directed by Jonathan Caouette, a New Yorker (but native Texan) who filmed himself and his family from a young age and made this documentary about it. The story contains some fascinating and disturbing elements: His mother was subjected to electric-shock therapy that sent her spiralling into a lifetime of severe depression and mental illness; Jonathan had a bad drugs experience as a child that left him with a depersonalization disorder; there's a great story to be told here, but it's all told so badly. I decided to listen to the commentary in the hope that I could understand better where the director was coming from, but it felt like the commentary was telling me all the things that should have been told in the film itself.

Caouette put together the film, for the most part, on his AppleMac, using iMovie. I read somewhere he used every single gimmick and effect the programme offered, and I have no trouble believing it.

My rating? * * * * * (2/5)