Kurt Cobain About a Son
Kurt Cobain About a Son Image
See the trailer
Metascore
69 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • Starring: Kurt Cobain
  • Summary: An intimate and moving meditation on the late musician and artist Kurt Cobain, based on more than 25 hours of previously unheard audiotaped interviews conducted with Cobain by noted music journalist Michael Azerrad for his book "Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana." In the film, Kurt Cobain recounts his own life - from his childhood and adolescence to his days of musical discovery and later dealings with explosive fame - and offers often piercing insights into his life, music, and times. The conversations heard in the film have never before been made public and they reveal a highly personal portrait of an artist much discussed but not particularly well understood. (Sidetrack Films)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 17
  3. Negative: 1 out of 17
  1. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Mark Bell
    90
    Everyone involved with the film brings their top talents to the fore, and the result is a touching, heartbreaking and an ultimately honest personal experience.
  2. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    80
    No single film or book can dispel the cloud of enigma surrounding Kurt Cobain, but simply sitting in the dark and hearing him talk to you for 90 minutes, while the dreary gray-green beauty of his home state moves through your eyeballs and into your brain, goes a pretty long way.
  3. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    50
    Only loosely connected to the story, the visuals quickly grow monotonous, and as the chronicle arrives at Cobain's late years of curdled fame and fortune, his bitterness and cynicism make even the narration hard to take.
  4. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Joel Selvin
    25
    Never penetrates Cobain's circumstances or character.

See all 17 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. CharlotteS.
    9
    Didn't really know what to expect given the up and down reviews I found online but in the end I thought this was an amazing look into Kurt's world and beautifully put together. It was rather haunting to hear his voice and how conflicted he was.… Expand
  2. Puja
    8
    As a mile-high Nirvana fan, I was always eager to learn more about not only Kurt but the band itself. This documentary provided some closure for me in terms of Kurt's death, which in turn was the death of Nirvana. It was painful to remember that there would be no more music from such a great band who expressed the unexplainable angst of my generation. However i feel that the documentary, now over 10 years after his death, help the now elder generation come into terms with what happened though it still doesn't explain Kurt's decision. But that's ok, we were never intended to know about it and he never wanted anyone to know much about his personal life. He was just a normal kid with normal problems - like one of us. It was beautiful to hear his voice and feel his pain that he knows we all share.… Expand
  3. PaulK.
    8
    If you're a fan, this is definitely worth checking out. I thought the re-created images to go along w/ the phone taped interviews worked in some parts but not others. I liked the live photos of nirvana at the end. I wish there would have been more real documentation to accompany Kurt's words. As it stands, it's a detached and odd feeling documentary. Appropriate enough, given the subject.… Expand
  4. JayH.
    5
    A good documentary is one that will engross you in the subject, whether you have an interest in it or not. On this level, About a Son fails. I didn't care about Kurt Cobain before watching, during it, or after it. It is painfully overlong. This is strictly for fans of Cobain.… Expand

Trailers

Current Movie Releases

Full List »
  1. Star Trek Into Darkness
    Metascore: 72
  2. Iron Man 3
    Metascore: 62
  3. 42
    Metascore: 62
  4. Fast & Furious 6
    Metascore: 61
  5. Evil Dead (2013)
    Metascore: 57
  6. The Great Gatsby
    Metascore: 54
  7. Oblivion
    Metascore: 54
  8. Pain & Gain
    Metascore: 43
  9. G.I. Joe: Retaliation
    Metascore: 41
  10. The Host
    Metascore: 35
  11. The Hangover Part III
    Metascore: 31
  12. Tyler Perry's Temptation
    Metascore: 27
  13. Scary Movie 5
    Metascore: 11
All Current Movies »