Directed by Jeff Feuerzeig

Does creative genius cause/create or generate madness, or is it madness that the world upholds as artistic genius? The Devil in Daniel Johnston does not try to answer this question but illustrates the conditionality and the repercussions of such genius.

A film depicting the rise of mythic folk legend Daniel Johnston as a man burdened by genius and originally cursed by mental deficiency. Exploring Daniel’s earliest influences when he had begun to develop a taste for artistic endeavor around middle school with interviews from personal friends and family members to present interviews with Daniel’s mother and father and his current band members the film explores the psychosis of a struggling artist and his grip on his personal reality and the reality he lives in.

Spirituality is no small part in this film as Daniel, from his early development as an artist, struggles with his religion and his personal relationship with the Devil who seems to, according to Daniel, know Daniel intimately. Daniel believes that the more renowned and successful he becomes the larger the part the Devil has in his life. From his demonic possession days to his revitalization with/of Jesus Christ the film depicts a manic Daniel praising the workings of Jesus Christ onstage to causing an old woman to leap out of her second story window from fear of the exorcism he was performing on her to his repeated accidental attempts at murder and suicide.

Artistry, psychology, and spirituality are a just a few of the nuclei that generate emotion and understanding at the center of the film as they spin the life of either great and misunderstood artist in his struggles of personal enlightenment.

Done through interviews with friends and family as well as actual footage of Daniel playing shows and creating art The Devil in Daniel Johnston illustrates what it is like to live in the aftermath of destructive creativity.

A montage of beauty, spirituality, destruction, and empathy The Devil in Daniel Johnston creates not respect, nor understanding, nor even sympathy but a window into the life of an artist struggling with his own problems and artistic vision.

Written by d/visible contributor Christopher Burkett

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2007 at 9:46 pm and is filed under Film. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.