I am only passingly familiar with Metallica and their drummer Lars Ulrich, but I found the film absolutely fascinating. There really isn't all that much music in the movie, and I would say it is basically a psychodrama.
But heavy metal music and lyrics typically explore themes of conflict and aggression, and the filmmakers make good use of that in the documentary. For example, under the opening credits there's a montage of various Metallica performances over the years of what is arguably the band's most characteristic concert number, "Seek and Destroy."
Ulrich and lead vocalist James Hetfield founded Metallica in 1981, and the conflict in the film is between these two strong-willed men. By 2001, which is when the movie opens, Ulrich and Hetfield appear to be extremely wealthy and no longer young, and they seem to me to be locked in a long-standing battle against each other for dominance.
But at some point Hetfield becomes unavailable for almost a year while he goes through rehab for his problems with alcohol. Also, the band eventually begins paying $40,000 a month to Dr. Phil Towle to counsel them, and it looks as though his main tool is group therapy. By the way, if you think men are unable to express themselves about their feelings, I recommend listening to Ulrich and Hetfield in this documentary.
As part of Hetfield's recovery schedule, after rehab he was allowed to work only from noon to four. The rest of the band accepted that, but what I found interesting is that Hetfield didn't want anyone else to work outside those hours either: he feared that collective decisions were being made in which he had too little involvement.
But it seems to me the others can't afford to take Hetfield's demands lightly. His singing voice is the one heard on CDs, and he's the band's front man at concerts. To my way of thinking, the group would be so different without him that Metallica as its fans have known it for more than two decades would cease to exist.
I've focused this write-up on Hetfield and Ulrich, but for years Metallica has been a four-man band. The movie also gives some coverage to lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, who replaced Dave Mustaine when he was fired back in 1983. There's a brief scene where Mustaine, who went on to found rival band Megadeth, talks to Ulrich about having been sacked.
In addition to lead vocalist, drummer, and lead guitarist, the fourth musician in Metallica is the bass player, a position being filled on a temporary basis during most of film by record producer Bob Rock. The documentary begins just after bassist Jason Newsted parted company with the band to pursue a project called Echobrain. He had replaced Cliff Burton, who was killed in a 1986 bus accident in Sweden. Near the end of the movie, Metallica hires a permanent bass player in the person of Robert Trujillo, formerly with Suicidal Tendencies, offering him a million dollar advance.
I was a little disappointed that the documentary has very little on one of the most famous incidents in Metallica history, namely their involvement in the Napster controversy. Napster provided a system whereby ordinary people could download music using the Internet, but the creators of the music would receive no money. Metallica played a prominent role in the legal battle that brought an end to this system, but they paid a price in terms of public relations. To many people, Lars Ulrich came out looking like a greedy rock star who didn't care about his fans.
"Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" has been released on DVD as a two-disc set. The first disc contains the documentary film plus two feature-length audio commentaries. The first is by Metallica and was recorded on the road during their 2004 tour. The second is by filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, who had previously used Metallica music, including "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)," in their 1996 documentary "Paradise Lost."
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