The 70s band battled poverty, depression and infighting. Descent into the Maelstrom shows how they also changed the face of Australian music
The drama of the dysfunctional band has long been a staple of the rock documentary form. In a case of life imitating art imitating life, films from Some Kind of Monster (which sat in on Metallica’s group therapy sessions) to End of the Century (which chronicled the tragically bitter life and death of the Ramones) play like a reprise of the intra-band bickering so perfectly satirised in This Is Spinal Tap.
As the credits roll on Spinal Tap, Marty Dibergi, played by the director, Rob Reiner, asks bass player Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) whether playing rock’n’roll keeps you a child. I was reminded of this watching Descent into the Maelstrom, the story of Radio Birdman, as this brilliant, influential and notoriously volatile band squabble over their history and their legacy.
The drama of the dysfunctional band has long been a staple of the rock documentary form. In a case of life imitating art imitating life, films from Some Kind of Monster (which sat in on Metallica’s group therapy sessions) to End of the Century (which chronicled the tragically bitter life and death of the Ramones) play like a reprise of the intra-band bickering so perfectly satirised in This Is Spinal Tap.
As the credits roll on Spinal Tap, Marty Dibergi, played by the director, Rob Reiner, asks bass player Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) whether playing rock’n’roll keeps you a child. I was reminded of this watching Descent into the Maelstrom, the story of Radio Birdman, as this brilliant, influential and notoriously volatile band squabble over their history and their legacy.
- 6/9/2017
- by Andrew Stafford
- The Guardian - Film News
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