Streamed across the country via satellite, Frank Turner’s film premiere – accompanied by a Q&A, solo acoustic performance, and some technical difficulties (the sound didn’t work in some venues for more than 20 minutes at the opening) – was an unexpected event. One that most of us never expected to happen. Reserved, generally, for those who have either died early or are at the end of a long, illustrious career, the documentary film seemed ambitious for an artist so relatively young and with such a future ahead of him.
From Beans On Toast reminiscing about the release of ‘Long Live The Queen’ and drummer Nigel Powell’s funny way of describing their gradual progression of success, to the candid chats with Turner’s sister Jo and best friend Erin, Ben Morse’s movie captures the reality of the man with perhaps the most loyal fan base in the world and a constant life on tour. Interspersing the candid moments of the singer’s life, live footage reminds us why Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls are about to play their 2000th show.
Aside from the singer himself, some of the most moving moments do come from The Sleeping Souls themselves, Turner’s band for 10 years and his friends for even longer. Throughout the film, you can’t help but wonder how they’ve done it for so long, particularly when bassist Tarrant Anderson speaks longingly for The Sleeping Souls’ hometown of Oxford – a place he misses while constantly on tour and the town in which Frank recorded his first EP, ‘Campfire Punkrock’ at his house. Guitar Tech, Cahir, hints towards their importance, saying “they’re a band who actually gives a shit,” and their place within Turner’s success is summed up by journalist Mischa Pearlman: “those guys are like the ground that he stands on”.
As Turner says himself, this isn’t a hagiography. Plenty of people idolise the singer – and as a fairly ‘normal’ person understandably so – and may have watched the film thinking they would learn all about their hero. Did we find out who the bearded man from Hampshire with the nice Mum and friendly band really is? How he writes all those songs that so many people love? Can we find out what his favourite food is? Or what his favourite bands are? No (well aside from his name-dropping The Weakerthans and an appearance from Billy Bragg). No matter how much fooling around is shown, none of this is trivial.
In fact, what ‘Get Better: A Film About Frank Turner’ is, is a revealing, honest tale of a fairly (sorry Frank…) broken guy who struggles with the balance of life, love, drink, drugs, home, tour, love, lust, family, friends, and music. Delving deep in to the psyche of a “complicated man trying to be simple,” Turner’s friends and family express their deep concern for their loved one following a period of self-destruction, exacerbated by the delayed release of ‘Positive Songs For Negative People’ and the pressure that came with it. Keyboardist Matt Nasir says, “I don’t think I could handle being Frank Turner very well,” and it looks like Frank can’t handle it a lot of time either.
At times, it felt like a eulogy and perhaps one day it will be used as such – eerily foreshadowed by the mention of David Bowie at the start of the film. But this film doesn’t represent the end of a life; leaving behind the self-created persona of the “whisky drinking troubadour” – or at least moderating it slightly – it welcomes the start of another. Closing the film, Turner says, “punk rock is self-creation. Punk rock is the idea that you choose who you are, what type of person you are, where you fit and what you do.” ‘Get Better: A Film About Frank Turner’ isn’t just a film about a man; it’s a film about all of us. And, no matter how fucked up we get, how many mistakes we make, or how hard we have to work for it – things can, and will, get better.
KATHRYN BLACK