Blur: To The End review – a touching, raw Britpop documentary
The latest in a long line of Brit Pop nostalgia tours looks at the return of Blur as they reunite to record their album The Ballad of Darren and play their biggest gig at Wembley Stadium. Documentarian Toby L follows band members Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rountree as they contend with ageing, success, and their historically temperamental bond.
You have to feel some sympathy for the filmmakers as they try to weave a narrative in this road to Wembley. In the present, the resources available for the gig mean there is little in the way of logistical conflict aside from Rountree hurting his knee playing tennis (“rock and roll!” smirks James). Also, when looking back on their rise to the top, there’s a reluctance from the bandmembers to delve too deeply, partly through blokey introversion, but also a hesitance at opening old wounds.
Still, it is far less guarded than most band documentaries. Albarn is the most interesting subject, first found on his own tending to chickens in his house in Devon (“we’ve got quite a rambunctious cockerel. His name’s Tony”). The Ballad of Darren was reportedly inspired by a breakup, and while he doesn’t address it other than describing “loss” he’s experienced, it’s clear the front man is a raw nerve as he snaps during rehearsals. Coxon’s awkwardness has some amusing moments, as he sulks about the Wembley staging; while on the other side of the spectrum James, the most genial of the lot, struggles with the tour life’s many temptations (“there’s always a reason not to go to bed”).
When discussing the irony of the band all having bought “a very big house in the country”, Rowntree chuckles “It’s funny how these sneering comments you make in your twenties come around to bite you in the arse”. Indeed, Blur: To The End finds the once angry young men as part of the establishment they once derided, and a little wounded from the journey. Still, it’s touching to see the love they still have for one another, and fans will delight in the closing concert footage.