Soaked in Bleach

USA 2015
produced by
Donnie Eichar, Richard Middleton, Benjamin Statler for Montani Productions, Daredevil Films
directed by Benjamin Statler
starring Daniel Roebuck, Sarah Scott, August Emerson, Tyler Bryan, Julie Lancaster, Jerry Hauck, Steven Ellison, Mandy Henderson; as themselves: Tom Grant, Cyril H. Wecht, Max Wallace, Norm Stamper, Vernon Geberth, Vincent Di Maio, John Fisk, Heidi Harralson, Carol E. Chaski, Ian Mcintyre, Mitch Holmquist, Aaron Burckhard, Ben Berg, Brett Ball, John Ball, Ryan Aigner, Lamont Schellenger, in archive footage: Kurt Cobain, Kurt Loder
written by Donnie Eichar, Richard Middleton, Benjamin Statler, music by Peter G. Adams

documentary

review by
Mike Haberfelner

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It's 1994, a few days before the death by apparent suicide of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain (Tyler Bryan): Tom Grant (Daniel Roebuck), a 47 year old old school PI who has never been young and has spent most of his life before becoming a gumshoe on the police force, is hired by Courtney Love (Sarah Scott), who's eaten up by worry about her husband Kurt, who has left her to God-knows-where a few days ago - Kurt being a heroin-addict with depressive bouts who of late has come in possession of a shotgun. Grant can't really relate with the young generation let alone their drug-addled lifestyle, but he accepts the assignment and goes on a wild goose chase helped by one of Kurt's friends, Dylan (August Emerson), in whose name the shotgun was actually bought ... and let's face it, Grant bungles up his investigation when Cobain is later found dead in a house actually owned by him and Courtney, having committed suicide three days earlier and having remained undiscovered for up to three days. To add insult to injury, Grant hears about Cobain's death only on the radio ...

There is much that actually points to Cobain's suicide, including that he was found in a room locked from the inside, there was a suicide note, and Cobain has apparently grossly overdosed and then blown out his brain and was found in a position that would suggest just that - but from the little evidence he has (and it's mostly just half-hearted deduction and hearsay), Grant makes up a conspiracy theory ...

Despite the fact that I personally don't buy any of the "evidence" Tom Grant has come up with to make Cobain's suicide look like murder - first and foremost due to the fact that Grant was hired by his "prime suspect" Courtney Love, who would certainly do anything but hire a private eye to snoop in her and her husband's affairs prior to the "murder" -, Soaked in Bleach is a pretty cool movie, pretty much portraying a generational clash between a film noir-like old school gumshoe (and Grant is most certainly portrayed in the vein of Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe) meeting the prototypes of grunge lifestyle, including excessive drug use and a certain blurriness that comes with it. And if you see this character study, then you might perceive Grant as a character who's annoyed to no end that he hasn't come out of this winning the upper hand, having been made a footnote in a story about two drug-addled musicians he had never even heard of prior to accepting the case. And even though at the beginning of the movie Grant tells the camera that he would perceive the label "conspiracy theorist" as an insult, his "conclusions" are basically just that, a conspiracy theory, as they create more unanswered questions as they answer questions, take unfounded statements for granted, and are based on premature assumptions.

All that said, I do admit there's the remote possibility that Kurt Cobain actually has been murdered, as is with many suicides mind you, and I'm neither a big Nirvana fan nor have I formed an educated opinion on Cobain's death - but basically, Tom Grant has done little to shed light on the case, and this film proves just that ... and that's exactly why it's well worth a watch!

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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