User Reviews

At times it almost felt like the editor was going out of their way to tank the movie, because some of the choices were too much, and the jarring cuts between styles and animation and music tracks that would only play for a short while and at inconsistent volumes got exhausting.

BUT: Shane McGowan is so interesting a subject - and the music of The Pogues so damn good - that this remains an engaging and sometimes emotional watch despite sometimes not great editing. Mild spoilers, but the ending scenes were particularly effective.

I loved the brutal, sad honesty of the idea that MacGowan isn't going to give up his heavy drinking, as so many documentaries about addiction end with fake optimism about going clean and getting one's life back on track after the credits start rolling. I don't like it in the sense that it means his health could deteriorate further, but I do appreciate how honest and sad it was, when so many similar documentaries would try to force some hope into the ending.

Also heartbreaking yet beautiful was footage of MacGowan singing with Nick Cave on stage, another legendary musician with a troubled past filled with tragedy and drug addiction who seems to have gotten his life back on track. Cave seems to have kicked his vices, is still recording some of his best music ever (Ghosteen is very good, Skeleton Tree is phenomenal), and to boot, looks about 15-20 years younger than MacGowan despite also being born in 1957.

It's a sad way to end a 2-hour movie, but dammit if it isn't powerful.

MacGowan's talents as writer are clear; but those same talents did not extend into his understanding of modern Irish history - which is, at best, fantastical.

And seeing Gerry Adams' interview with MacGowan - which is threaded throughout the documentary - reinforces this sense of fabulism.

At one point, Adams asks MacGowan about 'The Dunes', a song about the burial of victims of the Irish famine, prompting stock footage of children playing on sand dunes.

You can only hope Temple consciously created that chilling semiotic, otherwise we might relegate him to the same dunce filled history class as MacGowan.

There is not one critical voice in this documentary offering an alternative view of Irish history or the impact of Republicanism on both countries.

But perhaps where the documentary fails, it succeeds in exposing the intellectual motivation behind nationalism - a concept which first emerged in the late 19th century, 700 years after the Anglo-Norman's landed on Wexford's coast.

Perversity.

At one point Adams ventures that the word 'Punk' stems from an Irish word for 'a Yank'. Even MacGowan - a self proclaimed Republican - receives this assertion with a look of incredulity - or so you'd hope.

Fact: 'Punke' is a word used by Shakespeare to refer to prostitutes. Shakespeare was born in the 16th century; America was founded in the 18th century.

More painful still, is watching MacGowan's descent into a pale of drink and drugs. On the back of Fairytale of New York - a song which allegedly grosses .5 million per annum - The Pogues were treated to a gruelling touring schedule that Shane, according to his father, never came back from.

Retaining a relationship with your brother or your son when they have become world famous must be complicated; add to that several ringed walls informed by alcohol and substance abuse and it surely becomes painful.

Addiction - to give it a name - is complex. No doubt MacGowan had his own good reasons.

But as much as it's important not to fall foul of a romantic version of Ireland, it's equally important not to romanticise MacGowan's life long dependencies on substance abuse.

MacGowan's sister talks about a soul who is kind, thoughtful and intelligent - all great qualities entombed by a sarcophagus of indulgence, with no hope of excavation.

All that said, Temple's talents as a director shine through. Had this film been given by any other director it would have been dull, lifeless and vapid.

Let's hope MacGowan's songs live on, he's added so much more to the Irish song book. But let's also hope his version of Ireland stays buried, because we can't keep moving forward to the past; at some point, Ireland has to be allowed to change.

I heard about this biopic documentary film about a year after its release, I missed it a couple of times broadcast on television, but I couldn't ignore it when it was shown again the day that its subject sadly died at age 65, produced by Johnny Depp, directed by Julien Temple (Sade: "Smooth Operator", Earth Girls Are Easy, Bryan Adams: "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You)", S Club 7: "Have You Ever"). Basically, it is about the life and career of Irish singer, songwriter and musician Shane MacGowan, lead singer of Celtic punk band The Pogues. MacGowan was born on 25 December, Christmas Day 1957 in Pembury, Kent, but raised in Tipperary, Ireland. It is shocking to find out he started drinking alcohol when he was five years old, smoking huge quantities of cigarettes and took excessive amounts of drugs by his late teens. This would explain the poor health of his teeth and it is remarkable that he lived for the length of time he did. MacGowan co-founded The Pogues in 1982, they were originally called Pogue Mahone, based on an Irish phrase that translates "kiss my arse". They fused punk influences with traditional Irish music. Early hits for the band, specifically in Ireland, included "Dark Streets of London", "Boys from the County Hell", "A Pair of Brown Eyes", "Sally MacLennane", and "Dirty Old Town". It was in 1987 that The Pogues had their biggest hit with the Christmas song "Fairytale of New York, with MacGowan duetting with Kirsty MacColl; it was kept from the UK Christmas Number One by "Always on My Mind" by Pet Shop Boys. They also released the party song "Fiesta", and the political protest song "Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six". MacGowan performed endless shows across Ireland and the United Kingdom and he suffered a breakdown. He later returned to music and formed a new band, the Popes, and he made an appearance in the 1997 version of Lou Reed song "Perfect Day", hitting Number One and raising money for Children in Need. In the film, MacGowan talks about his experiences but comes across as a slightly aggressive and sometimes bewildered participant in his own story. The film also uses animation to depict his childhood and unseen events from the past. With contributions from Johnny Depp, Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie, former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams, Siobhan MacGowan (Shane's sister), Maurice MacGowan (Shane's father), and Victoria Mary Clarke (Shane's wife). I will admit it is slightly uncomfortable and awkward viewing, MacGowan is a tragic figure you feel sorry for in some respects, but he is equally a legendary figure and, to be fair, it is an interesting biographical documentary. Good!