Anonymous Club Review: Courtney Barnett Doc Is Emotional Portrait Of Fame
The best music documentaries do the impossible, simultaneously creating an intimate portrait of a larger-than-life figure and grounding them in a world that seems fantastical to most, while maintaining some level of grandiosity that conveys what it means to be the subject of people's devotion. AnonymousClub, which follows Australian-born singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett, finds itself in a unique position. Its subject is notoriously shy, but finds herself on a world tour in support of her album Tell Me How You Really Feel in front of thousands of screaming fans. "It feels like I'm being part of this scripted performance of what we think we're supposed to see on stage and it just feels really pointless," Barnett says early on, ruminating on the fact that she has the entire next year of her life mapped out. Anonymous Club hits a sweet spot that the best music does, hitting notes that are both relatable and somehow alien, painting a surprisingly emotional and grounding picture of what it means to perform for the world when one would rather stay in bed.
Narrated by Barnett herself, the artist was given a dictaphone by filmmaker Danny Cohen and, as the film progresses, she becomes increasingly unguarded. Barnett is about to embark on a world tour and AnonymousClub is filmed over a three-year period of her life as she deals with increasing prominence while being plagued by self-doubt.
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Anonymous Club does offer access to Barnett in a way that she hasn't opened up before and it provides fleeting moments of intimacy that feel like a form of intentional voyeurism. Some of this is due to the way in which it is shot. The 16mm film
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