Better than Something: Jay Reatard

VANCOUVER PREMIERE! ► The late garage-punk phenom Jay Reatard, a mainstay of the Memphis indie scene and a Matador Records recording artist, died in 2010, just short of this 30th birthday — and clearly on the verge of bigger things. This uncommonly intimate rock-doc reveals a fascinating, frustrating talent who was as prolific and productive as he was polarizing and self-destructive. “Like the longhair with the foghorn falsetto it's titled after, this unfussy profile is shaggy, sophisticated, and more than a little sad. Compiled from dozens of hours of 2009 interview footage with Reatard (né Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr.), Better Than Something captures its subject at a crossroads: pushing 30 and losing the adrenalized rage that gave his early work (and stage name) its nasty edge. Reatard is candid and cogent about his future as an artist — all the more tragic, then, that he OD'd in 2010... . Even non-fans will appreciate what a tough act Reatard is to follow, and anybody with a shred of respect left for rock 'n' roll will feel loss and anger at his passing” (Mark Holcomb, Village Voice). “What elevates the film above the norm is a series of remarkably candid and eerily prescient interviews ... Clearly a smart and articulate guy, Reatard comes across as a confident, driven perfectionist who inevitably inspired both fierce loyalty and lasting enmity... A must for fans, with generous helpings of Reatard’s music” (Eddie Cockrell, Variety). Colour, HDCAM. 89 mins.