There have been a lot of publications on Kurt Cobain, but none as in-depth and personal as 2015 documentary, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck. Director Brett Morgen does a tremendous job showing the intricacies of Cobains complicated persona through the use of personal journal entries, scribbled sketches and unreleased audiotapes, artistically compiled together in an explicit timeline of the troubled rock stars life. While others have attempted it in the past, never before has there been such a human portrayal of Kurt Cobain. From his humble yet formative upbringing in Aberdeen, Seattle, to his rise to inescapable fame and untimely death, we are invited to sit down and play the role of Kurt Cobains psychologist throughout the documentary. For the first time ever, we are introduced to Kurts entire personality, ultimately challenging the cultural perception of who he was. So what did we learn about the Nirvana frontman from this experience? Lets take a look at the revelations and new information gained about the troubled Nirvana frontman.
5. He Tried To Kill Himself Whilst Still In School
While there was some evidence that Kurt wasnt happy during his childhood, the documentary sheds new light on Kurt Cobains formative years, including a revealing insight to a teenage Kurt attempting suicide on a train track. Montage of Heck begins with a happy, inquisitive young Kurt seen through the lens of the family camcorder. He looks to be an ordinary, happy little boy with a good heart and angelic nature, but the tone soon shifts as we progress into Cobains teenage years. Kurts journals reveal he was lonely, and probably felt rejected and betrayed by his family due to their split. He began stealing, damaging property, experimenting with drugs and also contemplating suicide. The line I wasnt going out of this world without knowing what it was like to get laid explains how desperate he was, and it was desperation which lead to Kurt losing his virginity to an overweight girl with learning difficulties. When the kids at Kurts school began bullying and abusing him about it, Kurt decided he couldnt handle it, and got drunk and high, and went down to the train tracks to wait for the 11 o clock train. Spared only because the train was travelling on the other set of tracks, Kurt was freaked out enough by the near miss that he decided to try and rehabilitate himself. This suicidal attitude at a young age is a telling characteristic of Kurts personality, and foreshadows his later depression, heroin escapism and eventual death.