Mistaken For Strangers

Synopsis: Matt Berninger is lead singer of The National. His brother Tom isn’t. When The National begin the biggest tour of their career, Matt hires Tom as a roadie. Tom videos everything, but doesn’t really work very hard otherwise. Tom gets sacked, but he has a lot of video to edit. This is the result.

Rock documentaries have a long and proud history. Many well-respected directors have turned their eye to the subject. I’m not sure anyone has ever made a film like this however. One that puts you right inside the maelstrom not only of success, but the tensions within a family as one son rockets to stardom and the other children are left in his wake? And how do you, as the rock star, deal with your family? In Tom Berninger's film, these questions aren’t asked, they’re lived through. Mistaken For Strangers is to rock documentaries what embedded journalists are to war correspondence. Whatever you lose in objectivity, you gain in raw insight. And this is a very “warts and all” look at the dynamic between two brothers.

Funnily enough, the rest of The National is made up of two sets of brothers. And Tom’s obsession with his brother makes for some hilarious interviews as he steers his subjects to the topic of Matt, rather than themselves. So while there’s some insight into band dynamics, mostly we just get to understand the dynamic of Matt versus everyone else. Something that seems appropriate given that the rest of the band has to deal with the spotlight being on their front-man. And along the way you learn a fair bit about the struggles of the band on their way to the top. There’s a story about playing to an empty room that seems dumbfounding now, but reminds you that overnight success is something of a myth.

This is a very funny and heartfelt film about two brothers and their relationship. As the film progresses it also becomes, in true Hollywood fashion, a story about Tom growing as a person and carving out some achievements of his own. He presents on screen as a bit of slacker, but the craft that has gone into structuring the film belies that pose. Mistaken For Strangers is cinematic gonzo journalism of the best kind.

 

 

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