Who doesn’t love a good conspiracy theory whether it be the assassination of JFK , Chemtrails or the New World Order. Indeed our very own Editor was putting together a programme about the 9/11 attack and interviewed a leading conspiracy theorist about what they believed happened that day. It didn’t go well because when our Editor pointed out many of the discrepancies and holes in their theories one of them replied, ‘Oh I see what you’re doing. You’re in on it as well?’ Perhaps one of the most popular conspiracy theories is the death of famous popstars, singers etc but you don’t have to be brainier than the wall of Kurt Cobain’s house to realize that many are nonsense. So whilst super fans still believe that Elvis is still alive (singer Kirsty MacColl swears there’s a guy works down her chip shop who swears he’s Elvis), ‘Before the End’ countenances the idea that Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors is also still alive.
It’s a theory that director and lifelong fan Jeff Finn explores in his three part documentary that has taken years to make tracking down and interviewing over 1000 people that were involved with Morrison to some degree. Many of the interviews were filmed and used here with Part One looking at his life, Part Two his death and Part 3 titled Afterlife. This first part speculates about his death backed up with what can be deemed as coincidences but Finn’s own narration says that there are too many to explain but that’s really no reason why they should not have been explored. There’s a lot of filler in this first part that doesn’t drive the theory beyond an elongated chat with Morrison’s school friends and others who all mention that he had spoken about disappearing or faking his own death but who amongst us have not blurted out the daft and frankly absurd, ‘I’m going to be the first man on Mars’, ‘I’ve going to build a robot’ or even ‘I have a peculiar medical condition which is that I don’t sweat’
It’s Part Two that sees things get more interesting with a shocking revelation about Morrison’s childhood the effect of which appeared to understandably have profoundly affected the singer and the introduction of a guy called Frank who could be far more than he is letting on. But this second thread does meander down often spurious avenues with circumstantial evidence that are often contradictory. But it’s Part Three that is perhaps the best. With several revelations including Morrison having been kicked out of the band, a photograph with a telling reflection in sunglasses and just who is Frank? But it’s all ultimately reduced to being labelled ‘uncanny’ and the question in the voiceover asking, ‘How do you explain all these coincidences?’ Well the answer seems apparent. They are coincidences. It’s not helped either by one contributor who allegedly knew what happened that fateful night saying that, ‘it’s a secret I’m keeping to myself’ Which suggests either something fishy did happen or that she’s just perpetuating a myth to maintain their own importance and profile in the matter. Either way there’s no satisfactory explanation either way.
For a documentary of such like to work it needs to map out the exact purported circumstances of Morrison’s alleged death right from the start and work backwards addressing certain questions. Why is the coffin sealed? Where did Morrison get the drugs on that fateful night? Where is the coroners report and why is it not examined by an expert here? Why is all the evidence albeit mostly circumstantial, not presented to the French authorities because ultimately this can be answered in a simple manner – a DNA test of the body in the coffin n that Paris graveyard.
It’s a sincere attempt to explain what might have happened that night that has taken decades of Jeff Finn’s life at great cost. Before the End is described by Finn as a docu-mystery rather than a conspiracy which is probably a fairer description but fairer still would be to say that this is more successful as an insight into the man and the myth.
related feature : Richard Lumsden talks about his potty mouthed conspiracy theorist in new film, ‘Swede Caroline’
related feature : ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ – REVIEW of the Scarlett Johansson / Channing Tatum man on the moon conspiracy film
We chatted to Jim Finn about his documentary, Before the End ……
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Here’s the ‘Before the End’ trailer……
The post Before the End : Searching for Jim Morrison – STREAMING appeared first on Any Good Films.
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