This is a very interesting and well-made film, about an intriguing and personable character, of particular interest to musicians who are slightly outside the mainstream.
I am one such musician, but I am afraid that one of my pet hates is music documentaries where the protagonist's story suddenly jumps from "I was so unpopular that even my mother refused to listen to my music" to "Then I was rich and famous because of my music", with absolutely no explanation of how this change came about.
In Glenn Copeland's case, this jump is described as taking the form: "I was living openly as a lesbian, which was still illegal in Canada at the time, and escaped being confined to a mental institution and receiving electo-shock treatment by a hair's-breadth. Then the Canadian Broadcasting Company published my first album, and everything was great."
How on earth could that possibly happen? To my mind, this unexplained jarring improbability called every other "true" assertion within the film into question, souring my enjoyment somewhat.
I am one such musician, but I am afraid that one of my pet hates is music documentaries where the protagonist's story suddenly jumps from "I was so unpopular that even my mother refused to listen to my music" to "Then I was rich and famous because of my music", with absolutely no explanation of how this change came about.
In Glenn Copeland's case, this jump is described as taking the form: "I was living openly as a lesbian, which was still illegal in Canada at the time, and escaped being confined to a mental institution and receiving electo-shock treatment by a hair's-breadth. Then the Canadian Broadcasting Company published my first album, and everything was great."
How on earth could that possibly happen? To my mind, this unexplained jarring improbability called every other "true" assertion within the film into question, souring my enjoyment somewhat.
