When You’re Strange review

When You’re Strange (15, 85 mins)
Director: Tom DiCillo

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

When You’re Strange is a no-nonsense chronological account of The Doors, from their early days as a supporting act in the mid 60s to front-man Jim Morrison’s death in a Paris bathtub in 1971. From their very first record deal, the focus is on how Morrison’s drinking affected their music and their reputation. What’s particularly valuable about it is that it’s told entirely with archive footage, some of it extraordinary, that shows Morrison both as an impassioned performer and just how inflammatory he was to a crowd. Evocative as a chronicle of a time and place, and with Johnny Depp’s persuasive narration, it mostly shows how the self destructive lizard king joined the list of artists whose death ensured their immortality.