Photo: Press
"I'm a little perplexed," shrugs The National guitarist Bryce Dessner. "You said you wanted to get me into the movie and talk about me...but all you want to do is talk about Matt. That's normal, a lot of people just want to talk about Matt."
There's a Larry David of tension in the air as a black humour underlies what is less of the 'concert movie' that you'd expect, and more of a universal and timeless tale of brothers and rivalry, of victory and failure.
The film, shot by frontman Matt Berninger's brother Tom, follows the band around on their world tour in 2010 as they finally rise to huge international acclaim off the back of the worldwide acclaim that followed in the wake of High Violet - but also tells the story of Tom's own identity crisis as he measures his own life against that of his successful brother.
"You're too set in your ancient patterns of behaviour as brothers," Bryce tells Tom. "You're the underdog and he's the alpha male. You're not going to win."
"You need to get your shit together," barks Matt at his brother. And there's your scene - the metalhead, lazy, layabout brother on the road with the biggest indie band in the world (and best American band of our times). He's hired as a tour manager as he shoots footage for a film project. But this is not a rock n' roll movie (much to Tom's initial anger). It's about Tom coming to terms with the sight of his brother, the one who was always 'the golden boy, the quarterback', as he becomes a rock star with a capital R.
Tom can't do his job, he's awful - drawing painful parallels against his brothers rising star. It's not long before he's fired as tour manager, and turns his attention to finishing the movie - another struggle. Cut with interviews of friends and family, it paints a portrait of the man in the midst of an existential crisis, bumbling to shape his future.
It' not all dark, the whole thing is coloured with a deliciously dark humour. Every awkward silence and juxtaposition, put-down, petty fight and goofball bandmember introduction gives the movie a Portlandia-esque sense of indie satire.
"I'm sorry that you didn't get to meet the President," is the best piece of dialogue to express this, after Matt tries to comfort Tom after playing a gig for Barack Obama. "if there's another chance in the future I'll see what I can do."
Tom sighs: "They probably did a background check and found that I had a DUI from about 10 years ago,"
While the footage of The National performing live showcases their true cases, it calls for a full live DVD or concert movie. But there's another time for that. This doesn't need it. There's no lame-sped up footage of trucks full of equipment being unloaded, no high-rise demi-God camera angles or Jesus Christ posing. What you have here is a cliché-free work of pure brilliance and originality.
Whether or not you like The National is almost irrelevant. Hell, you don't even need to like music. This is a movie that's more about brotherhood and identity than it is about a band. It's a touching tale for anyone who's ever been a brother, for anyone who's ever tried and failed, for anyone with anything to prove.
Tom may be the underdog, but in this film, everyone wins and brotherhood prevails. This is an absolute must-see.
Watch the trailer for Mistaken For Strangers below
Mistaken for Strangers will be released in cinemas from 27 June, with a special screening and live satellite Q&A frm Hackney Picture House in London being streamed to cinemas around the country on Saturday 14 June.
Buy tickets to the screening and see a list of cinemas involved here.
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