Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
After bassist Jason Newsted quits the band in 2001, heavy metal superstars Metallica realize that they need an intervention. In this revealing documentary, filmmakers follow the three rock stars as they hire a group therapist and grapple with 20 years of repressed anger and aggression. Between searching for a replacement bass player, creating a new album and confronting their personal demons, the band learns to open up in ways they never thought possible.
Some Kind of Monster is a remarkably candid and often uncomfortable fly-on-the-wall documentary that earns its distinctiveness by exposing one of rock's most macho bands in deeply vulnerable, sometimes absurd therapy sessions. The novelty is genuine — watching Metallica dissect their dysfunction with a $40,000/month therapist is unlike any rock doc before or since, blending genuine pathos with unintentional comedy. The 'plot' (such as it is) benefits from real dramatic tension: Hetfield's rehab absence, the Lars/Dave Mustaine confrontation, and the bass player search all provide compelling arcs. Acting scores reflect authentic rather than performed behavior. Cinematography is functional vérité — workmanlike rather than artful. The ending, resolving around St. Anger's release and Trujillo's hiring, is satisfying but somewhat anticlimactic given the emotional peaks that precede it.