All I Can Say

★★★★ Dir: Shannon Hoon, Danny Clinch, Taryn Gould, Colleen Hennessy BULLDOG FILM. C/ST

Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon films his rise and tragic fall, 1990-1995.

“You are the only person I have to talk to”, Hoon says to hand-held camera, and the obsessive, extended selfie he shot until the day he died of a cocaine overdose, aged 28, speaks of a deep need partially wrought by his parents’ breakup. Clever editing of Hoon’s shaky archive also makes this a valuable and compelling time capsule. We witness his big break singing BVs for a youthful Guns N’ Roses, watch him process Kurt Cobain’s death in real time, and wince at Hoon’s pain when a journalist calls Blind Melon, famous only for MTV smash No Rain, “one-hit wonders”. From shaving his eyebrows off to alcohol and heroin benders, portents of the troubled singer’s demise deepen over time; heartbreaking given his failed rehab attempts and obvious love for his girlfriend Lisa and their daughter, Nico Blue.