Searching for Elliott Smith

Searching for Elliott Smith is the first visual documentary on an artist who is near and dear to my heart; I rememeber the night he died, hoping it was only a rumor, listening to his music all night long and crying over a loss that was partially expected.

Rather than taking the route of involving famous people in the film, first-time Director Gil Reyes interviewed Elliott's closest friends, former bandmates and roommates, and independent musicians/ directors/ producers from different eras in Elliott's life (namely Portland, Brooklyn, and LA)...even his high school principal in Texas made an appearance (although none of his family members agreed to participate). A painfully honest portrayal, the film treated Elliott like a real person, with faults, talents, and a complicated yet not completely uncommon background. One of his friends discussed their mutual propsensity to want to fail, even if they were nearing success. In fact, we learn that Elliott considered most of his songs to be too perfect and consciously decided to "fuck them up" before releasing them to the public.

Reyes successfully included Elliott's actual music, film clips, music videos, and quirky illustrations and animations to add to this low-budget project. In the Q&A session after the showing, he also explained that he left in the sometimes distracting sounds of wind in trees and gusts on the street, as well as the sound of nearby birds, because he felt that this was Elliott watching, listening, and hovering over those who were speaking to Reyes' camera. I always appreciate when a director's sincerity plays a role in the making of his/her film and, in this case, Reyes stated that no, he did not know Elliott personally, but much like many of the talented artist's adoring and still heartbroken fans, he felt like he did. This is the true beauty of Elliott's words and music.

As we glance into the past, we learn that Elliott felt that he needed to scream in his early-90s punk band Heatmiser, mostly because that's what all of the local bands in Portland were doing. Soon, though, he came to realize, as stated in a video interview, that it's more powerful to whisper harsh words and emanate anger delicately than it is to scream. And thus Elliott developed his own whispery sound, constructing both simple and complex songs on piano and guitar; a mellow, calming, somber air coupled with extremely dark and poetic lyrics.

We follow his rise to fame and his confusion with how to feel about it. As a shy, introverted, and inherently self-destructive person, Elliott was at odds with prying eyes and anyone looking to make him some kind of idol, generational spokesperson, or celebrity. This has obvious similarities to the issues of Kurt Cobain, except it would seem that Elliott was bothered less by how he was perceived by the masses and more by his own inner demons; he never felt settled in his own music, body, and soul, and also didn't know how to feel about major labels and corporate music, Reyes also expertly compares Elliott to the character of Will Hunting in the film that basically gave Elliott his early notoriety (after "Miss Misery"); both were genuises, both abused, and basically both struggling to use their talents in a world that they could never quite fit into.

The most shocking aspect of the film was not only its close look into Elliott's eventual downward spiral—and how his music, behavior, friendships, and lifestyle changed for the worse—but the confessions made by his last girlfriend, Jennifer Chiba, who some accuse of murdering Elliott. She tearfully explains exactly what happened on Oct. 21, 2003 and even goes to the police department in an attempt to clear things up with detectives who not only ruled the death as inconclusive, but who also stated that Chiba refused to speak with them when asked to. Reyes is obviously convinced that Elliott's death was indeed a suicide, which is quite a different experience from the highly opinionated Kurt & Courtney documentary that was released in the '90s.  He is very passionate about telling the entire story and dispensing the "mystery" surrounding Elliott's case.

Perhaps one of my favorite moments of the film was when Reyes interviewed two girls at the "Elliott Smith Wall" (the mural Elliott stands behind on the cover of Figure 8) in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. These girls discuss their connections with Elliott through his honest and emotional songs, and admit that they adamently add a "T" every time someone spells his name wrong on the wall. I would do the same.

words by Amy Dupcak / bottom photo by a.dupcak / www.no-alternative.net