Review of The Nowhere Inn
The Nowhere Inn (2021) Dir. Bill Benz
Annie Clark, otherwise known as indie darling St. Vincent, steps into the world of film with The Nowhere Inn, a mockumentary made in collaboration with long-time friend Carrie Brownstein (of rock royalty Sleater Kinney), who co-stars in this ambitious film.
Written by both Clark and Brownstein, the film focuses on Brownstein, playing her film-maker self, who’s asked by Annie Clark to follow her on her 2017 tour marking the release of her critically acclaimed album, Masseducation. But the documentary-in-making hits a roadblock, when it becomes clear to both Brownstein and Clark, that maybe she’s just not that interesting…?
And though Brownstein’s initial focus is on Annie just being ‘herself’, she soon realises that her documentary might need a little artificial drama to bring it to life. Those familiar with St. Vincent’s beautiful blend of theatrical, art-rock will take great pleasure in seeing Clark, now fully aware of her friends concerns, hamming it up to a ludicrously self-knowing degree. Clark is wonderful, mixing in her on-stage persona to wonderful effect – and to her friend’s increasing frustration and bemusement. But as her actions grow stranger and the tour descends into a full-on deconstruction of the pop-star documentary, The Nowhere Inn starts to lose its foothold in reality, and spiral out of control.
It’s refreshing to see Clark so intent on tackling the question of whether it’s ever truly enough to just be you, and The Nowhere Inn is certainly a vehicle for Clark to explore what it means to be caught between two worlds. Is St. Vincent who she wants to be? Or is she more at home playing scrabble with her bandmates? But the film as a whole becomes disorientating and frustrating, relying too heavily on absurd set-pieces and a surreal aesthetic to make up for a confusing and messy plot.
Brownstein can’t quite provide the solid anchor this film needs as our remaining connection to reality, and though we do see some of Clark’s breath-taking live performances from the tour, it’s not enough to keep this film grounded. Instead we tumble headfirst down a rabbit-hole.
You can’t fault Clark and Brownstein for their ambition here, and The Nowhere Inn features enough to keep St.Vincent fans interested, but as with many passion projects between friends, there doesn’t seem to have been a voice of restraint in the process. Instead, it’s all too self-knowing, and even the fundamental questions that underlie this film feel like they’ve already been answered. And with that there’s little to discover. But when it comes to music documentaries – in this case a mockumentary itching to be a noirish horror – it’s certainly a relief to be spared the meaningless platitudes of pop stars and instead be taken on a wild desert ride to nowhere...
★★★
Jeremy Arblaster
Twitter @JeremyArblaster
