Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields
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User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 1 out of 3

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  1. DKaasbraden
    Oct 27, 2010
    5
    I wasn't too impressed with this one. It's just not original enough. It reminds me of another movie - the name of which escapes me right now - which dealt with a similar subject (musician's life story) but that one was much better. See this only if you really love rock music.
  2. Kaasbraden
    Oct 27, 2010
    10
    10 out of 10.
    I have never seen a movie like this before, from the first scenes, which sizzle with authenticity, to the last, dripping with bathos, this film amazed me. Ostensibly a biopic about a semi-successful musician named Stephen Merritt, it traverses the range of human experience, from the expectant wonder of youth to the dashed hopes of middle age.
    It captures the rock milieu so     convincingly, it plays like a documentary. I see a lot of movies, so many that sometimes I'm not sure of the titles or subject matter a day later, but I will never forget this one.… Expand
  3. DavidKaasbraden
    Oct 27, 2010
    0
    Give it a miss. The sort of thing we've seen before. I've seen at least two other movies recently that dealt with almost exactly the same subject, but they were both much better than this. This would have been much better suited to the documentary format.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
66 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    Jan 13, 2011
    70
    The documentary is most valuable for its fly-on-the-wall footage of the inventive tunesmith puttering around his apartment and drilling the band on his idiosyncratic arrangements.
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  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    Dec 11, 2010
    80
    Clearly, the directors have to be Merritt advocates to hang in there that long, but the film that resulted has elements that keep it from being simply a fan's notes.
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  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    Dec 11, 2010
    75
    No matter your take on Merritt's persona, there's no denying that he's a unique musician whose songs -- such as "Papa Was a Rodeo" and "Living in an Abandoned Firehouse With You" -- are worth discovering. As is this film.
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