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Article: What fresh hell is this? A documentary about a very troubled musician asks if artists always have to tango with the devil.(The Devil and Daniel Johnston)(Brick)(Movie review)
- Article from:
- New York
- Article date:
- April 3, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 New York Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IT'S NO BIG NEWS that the line between artistry and mental illness can be perilously thin, but how porous it is in the work of Daniel Johnston--barely a membrane. In The Devil and Daniel Johnston, the director, Jeff Feuerzeig, tells the one-quarter inspirational, three-quarters nerve-racking tale of the "manic-depressive" singer-songwriter, visual artist, and cult figure. Although I'm not a member of this particular cult--which seems to thrive as much on sympathy as admiration--I found the documentary surprisingly diverting as a case study: not only of a talented misfit sublimating like mad to keep his loneliness from consuming him but also of a fringe artistic community ...