The Nowhere Inn (2020) User Reviews

creative satire

[ferguson-6 · 6/10 · 16 September 2021]

Greetings again from the darkness. Have you ever wondered what would happen if David Lynch and Fred Armisen collaborated on a contemporary reimagining of THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984)? Well, me neither, and that has not happened. But it's the closest I can come to giving you some idea of this meta-comedy concept film from director Bill Benz and co-writers and co-stars Carrie Brownstein and St Vincent.

We are told that initially singer-songwriter-musician St Vincent has asked her friend Carrie Brownstein to direct a documentary on the singer and her tour. Brownstein envisions a blend of concert and offstage footage so that fans get to know the "real" St Vincent. It turns out the real St Vincent is Annie Clark, a woman who plays Scrabble and video games, and loves to shop for radishes at local Farmers Markets. The contrast between St Vincent's onstage red guitar riffs, giant video screen, leather outfits and her offstage calm personality is not just stark, but actually a bit boring.

Boring is not what Brownstein has in mind and it creates a rift between the two women, and flips a switch for St Vincent. The musician goes overboard in trying to manufacture the typical rock star image of cool and aloof. Brownstein is frustrated not just with the artificiality of the new approach, but also in the expanding distance between the two friends. Some of the vignettes are quite humorous - in a surreal way. St Vincent stages an intimate scene in her bedroom with a scantily clad Dakota Johnson, and then another sequence features St Vincent's "family" in a scene right out of "Hee-Haw".

The satire on public vs private life is a topic worthy of discussion. Often it's the fans who feel entitled to know more about their icons, while other times it's the celebrities who are trying to cultivate a public image and garner some extra publicity. In this era of social media, the bigger the personality - the more outlandish - the more publicity and the more followers.

Director Benz's film drags a bit in the middle, and the final act turns somewhat surreal as Brownstein and St Vincent both have their lapses from reality. Both seem to be confused about their public persona vs real life, so it begins to mimic what's happened with the original documentary concept. There is a terrific scene involving St Vincent singing on stage and working her way through red velvet stage curtains, but for the most part this isn't a biting satire - it's more like a soft-touch. The "Portlandia" connection is clear throughout (Benz, Brownstein, St Vincent) but I'm not sure the film is cohesive enough (mockumentary? Wry comedy? Satire?) for a mass audience ... it might work best as midnight madness.

In theaters September 17, 2021.

A Unique Surprise

[sweidman-28016 · 7/10 · 6 October 2021]

"This is how actors play rock stars in movies."

St. Vincent sets out to make a documentary about her music, but when she hires a close friend to direct, notions of reality, identity, and authenticity grow increasingly distorted and bizarre. The Nowhere Inn is an absurd, comedic, and thriller that I'm still trying to wrap my head around. It's hard to pinpoint the genre, but whatever it is, it's working. This played apart of the midnight selection at Sundance 2020, and I remember it looked interesting (all of the midnight ones did that year) but I didn't understand what it was about. Even watching the trailer, it barely covers what it's about. St. Vincent (Annie Clark) and her real life friend Carrie Brownstein wrote and starred in the movie, of course. They have this amazing chemistry that didn't need any building beforehand. Everything you see is genuine. Though they're playing themselves, they have a unique character that we know isn't how it's like in real life. St. Vincent does fantastic with the transformation she goes through. It's so fun to watch her go through it all. And Carrie Brownstein, who I haven't really seen much before has really good acting skills. Had those two not been cast in their own movie, and I'm not sure if they originally started out writing themselves in, I don't think they could've pulled it off.

The story is extremely satirical. Once you start to realize what the movie is about, and it makes a point to it, you can see some of what will unfold. It pokes fun at documentaries and rockstars and performers and they way it's done is really cool and fun. When you consider the movie as a whole, then it gets a little more confusing. It's like a movie within a movie within a movie (I think that's right). What we mainly see is a mockumentary style story. There's different aspect ratios and styles to differentiate what story or movie we're focusing on. And the cinematography is pretty good. There's sequences shot on film, mostly the concerts, that are beautiful to look at. And it's edited really well. There are many achievements to be noted. With how trippy it is, it can be hard to figure out what the movie is trying to say. But that's also a point made in the movie where someone says something along the lines of "I don't think she really understood the movie we were making." A little more clarity would've helped, but I like having the mystery there. For a little bit the same things keep happening and I wanted a little more variety. It's one of those things where I thought they'd move on and show something else, but they keep going back to it. As a character, it's frustrating for Carrie but she lets it happen for some time. Nevertheless, this is a really fun movie. I was in the middle of watching it when my apartment building had a power outage so I had to watch it in halves. You need to be attentive and ready for anything when watching. By the end it goes completely off the rails and I'm not sure how to interpret it. Maybe a little more reading will help. Overall, The Nowhere Inn is a surprising movie that I would like to revisit again. It does land with everything, but for a psychological movie (that's the genre I'm going with) it has great craft and great start for Bill Benz to make more movies!

The Nowhere Inn, not a mockumentary

[ilvlftuup · 6/10 · 2 April 2023]

I wanted to love The Nowhere Inn, because I'm a fan of Carrie Brownstein, and I like mockumentaries. This is more of a drug-addled, surrealistic reaction to the superficiality of celebrity, classism, and the reality of the fakeness of filmed reality. There's a lot of interpersonal cruelty between Annie & Brownstein which is frustrating & anxiety-inducing while it is couched in what feels like a nightmare. What I like about The Nowhere Inn is it's a reaction, one of disgust, which is appropriate. The objective of a mockumentary is to be satirical, sarcastic, comedic, and slightly absurd - and while there are a few really funny moments, the story gets buried under layers upon layers of mess. All said and done, I asked myself if viewers of The Nowhere Inn are supposed to feel like they were on the outside of an inside joke. That is where that film has left me.

Didn't work

[Gordon-11 · 17 October 2021]

The film has striking visuals, but that's about all the nice things I can say about it. There is no story. The film is basically a self-indulgent, narcissistic expression of "look at me, me me me me". If this film was made for the singer to promote herself, I'm afraid it didn't work. I'm actually put off by it.

Very entertaining

[jopsp · 6/10 · 2 January 2022]

Look, I think you have to a) like st Vincent and b) get her a little bit. Honestly, I had fun thinking about how much fun they must have had, while filming some of the more "outrageous" scenes! You get a little live footage, you get a little of what you think she's like bts and her friendship with CB and then, you also get to laugh with what she created in order to become "more interesting" bts for the documentary. I liked it a lot! I don't know what to call it, but I don't need to. It's not a movie, it's not a documentary, it is really fun though. Also, i loved the cinematography. I rated it with a 6/10, just because I've rated films that I like higher, but this is not a filmy film...whatever, just watch it if you like her! Bye.

It didn't do much of anything for me, I'm sorry to say

[paul-allaer · 4/10 · 27 September 2021]

As "The Nowhere Inn" (2020 release; 91 min.) opens, Annie Clark a/k/a St. Vincent is in the back of a stretch limo that is driving through the dessert. The limo driver tells Annie he has no idea who she is , "and I've driven a lot of celebrities!". At some point he stops the limo and abandons Annie in the middle of the dessert. We get some concert footage, and then Annie introduces her good friend Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney; Portlandia) and informs us that Carrie is going to make a documentary about Annie... At this point we are 10 min into the film.

Couple of comments: this movie is very much a labor of love from Annie Clark and Carrie Brownstein, who co-wrote and also co-produced this. The film's director is Bill Benz, best known for his work on that other Brownstein project, "Portlandia"). Please note: "The Nowhere Inn" is NOT a documentary, but a fictional film brought to us as if it were a documentary. It's a mix of concert footage, fictional scenes, and interviews, all of it served up in a big mix of weirdness and self-conscious art. Normally, I'd be totally up for this, but truth be told that in this particular case, it simply landed with a dud. It's not for a lack of trying. Clark and Brownstein play up the question of where Annie Clark ends and St. Vincent begins. "We are not so different, me and her" observes Annie at some point. Certainly the movie suffers because there really is no plot to speak of, raising the question: what is the point of this film? So that Annie/St. Vincent can let us have a glimpse as to who she really is? If that is the case, she failed miserably as I haven't anymore a clue now that I've seen this, as compared to before.

"The Nowhere Inn" was filmed 2 1/2 years ago, and premiered at the 2020 Sundance film Festival, yes, pre-pandemic. Now 20 months later, the film was released in select US theaters. Being the St. Vincent fan that I am (I saw her on her very first tour in 2007, when she opened for the National, it was simply St. Vincent and her electric guitar, no backup band), I just had to check it out. The Sunday early evening screening where I saw this at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati turned out to be a private screening: I was literally the only person in the theater. I cannot imagine this will play much longer in theaters. If you are a St. Vincent fan, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (if you still can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

some funny

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 19 May 2022]

Annie Clark is music star St. Vincent. She asked her friend Carrie Brownstein to make a documentary about her tour. On stage, she is cool and powerful but in the real world, she's a nice boring pushover. Carrie suggests injecting some of her on-stage persona into her real life to spice up the documentary. Annie takes it too far.

This is funny little indie. Some of it is downright Spinal Tap. The sex scene is pure Spinal Tap. The story does lose the thread at the end when it tries to go surreal. It seems like the writers felt they had nowhere to go. The thing is that there is an obvious way to close it out. Annie and Carrie need to have a heart-to-heart to save their friendship. Their friendship is the overarching premise of the movie. I thought the prison is a great move but everything after that is missing the point. It's still really fun.

Different than i thought

[isaacochoterena · 4/10 · 22 March 2022]

This movie has a good first part, but in the second part it gets confusing.

The film starts well and a bit funny, it begins by criticizing the audience and that we always want to see something interesting on the person behind the artist, it also states that it is very difficult for us as humans to open ourselves emotionally. It also argues that it is not necessary for the audience to know everything about our favorite artists and that by wanting to know that, we can easily be fooled into creating an identity of the artist that is not the same as that of the human being behind it. But in the second half it loses its sense of what it means with the metaphors, it is not known if the main character is exaggerating things or is just pretending, because of this that character begins to get fed up with its sarcastic and exaggerated way of acting, It's hard to understand the tone of this movie. The story is not told in the best way, just as the ending is overwhelming since it shows that sometimes we are afraid of opening ourselves emotionally to others and that sometimes we do not want to know ourselves, but it does so in a very intense and very sudden way.

It is not understood if it wants to be a fake documentary, or if something like this really happened or if they just did nonsense things and built a very crazy and intense story, I did nos like it and I would not recommend it, but if you are a fan of the artist which it is about, you may like it.

Think David Lynch, meets Spinal Tap, meets 'Eraser Head'...Very entertaining on all fronts!

[iamflower · 8/10 · 1 August 2021]

'The Nowhere Inn': (No Spoilers here!)

Think David Lynch, meets Spinal Tap, meets 'Eraser Head'...Very entertaining on all fronts: Musically, Visually, Storytelling, Editing, and Fun-tense character arcs...very creative!

I didn't expect much, I didn't know much about it before watching, and I even hesitated to watch it because i didn't want to hate it since I really like St. Vincent...But I was surprised!

Well written, very well acted, lots of creative use in the editing that rides the line of 'too much' but never seems to cross it. The story is clear, so I didn't have to work to stay with it: Expectations meet Reality...Glamour meets Simplicity...Trust meets Freedom...Friendship meets Challenge and Sanity meets Unravelling. These are some of the wonderful conflicts and resolutions in the film.

I was entertained throughout and yes, I definitely felt that i got to know St. Vincent - Annie Clark (and Carrie Brownstein!) a little better...well done!

Vanity project

[Phantasma_the_Black · 2/10 · 12 June 2022]

Imagine being young and seeing Inland Empire for the first time and deciding to become a director.

This is probably what you'd have made - the inspiration is obvious, you're onto something but not quite there. And you don't get there even by the end of the movie.

The atmosphere is a bit off, at times weird for the sake of being weird, mostly boring, repetitive, and just a tad bit pretentious.

It's fine - we all have to start somewhere and I would've been probably more generous with my rating hadn't I realized that the character of St. Vincent and her friend are very much real people playing themselves. Or at least some version of themselves they think it's cool.

Bearing that in mind, all of the potential symbolism goes down the drain once you realize there are NO characters and there is NO story. It's just a vanity project to show how offbeat these women are.

I've seen people commenting online that you have to *know* St. Vincent's career and persona in order to get this movie. I'm sorry, but it's just an excuse for bad filmmaking.

What makes Inland Empire great is that you don't have to know anything about David Lynch, because the film speaks for itself. This does not speak for anyone. Just avoid it.

Adequately Extravagant

[noisykilljoy · 10/10 · 17 September 2021]

If you're a St. Vincent fan, you know that she will always appear with a new, fancy, experimental sound that makes you realize: this is what you've been waiting for even though you didn't know. I feel like this movie completely catches the essence of who Annie has constructed as "St. Vincent", but not by offering a true depiction. The nerdy, soporific, post-show scrabble-playing Annie Clark is not at all who Annie in real life is, as she has stated in a recently published interview. The antagonist that appears after Annie decides she is not needed for the documentary is also an exaggerated version of her performer persona; a powerful, imperious, controlling, aesthetically pleasing rock star who designs her own show and provides whatever she feels like is necessary to present on her stage, even if it's not what her conventional and mainstream colleagues do. The fact that this overwhelming character is who real-life Annie decided to show in this movie is exactly her quality of art and what she brings to the table. If there's an edge, she's there, comfortably singing and playing her electric guitar as if she's jamming in her PJs in her bedroom, and makes it look like this is what it should be, whether you like it or not. If you're a St. Vincent fan, this movie's exactly for you.

I wanted to love it...

[AndreaWeaver1 · 4/10 · 1 February 2022]

I am a fan of St. Vincent and have been for years now. I am also a huge Portlandia fan; Carrie Brownstein's off-beat humor is something that I can and have enjoyed. Because of that, I was excited to watch this film, and truly thought I could handle whatever oddities were thrown my way. I was stupid to think so highly of myself. I felt out of step with this film as soon as it started and never really fell into rhythm with whatever was going on. I loved the music sequences and really enjoyed seeing Annie Clark acting (even if she was playing herself)

Pointless

[westsideschl · 2/10 · 11 April 2022]

Script had a disjointed, poor flow, storyline of a female rock star & her lifelong writing/helping/directing friend deciding the course of their lives with the help of making a documentary of their lives.

What I will remember: Lots of ugly sunglasses, excessive make-up (especially always wearing excessive very red lipstick); frequent costume changes; poor singing, worse lyrics (yes, I know, value judgements but really).

Supposedly, a statement on what stars think about their fans.

I mean, the mere fact ENTIRE music videos are depicted...

[orcinussr · 4/10 · 15 August 2021]

.. leads me to believe that Carrie was 'kinda" doing St Vincent, a solid by utilizing her as the subject and thus providing free exposure to any film goer - it's just odd to me and, for me, is a detractor.

I love Annie Clark to death

[setht-10142 · 10/10 · 13 July 2023]

Once in a lifetime singer-songwriter-guitarist Annie Clark in a surreal movie, what's not to love? Carrie Brownstein is already a musical and TV legend. The two of them should have done even more projects together. Still hopeful they will collaborate again in the future. If you like this movie it's very likely you'd like Carrie's show Portlandia as well. St. Vincent makes cameos in that show a few times as well. I can't express into words how important Annie Clark's influence on my life was. She's a real modern living legend. Can't wait to see what the future holds. St. Vincent for life! <3 :*

Another artist gets high on their own doo doo.

[sean-curtin-517-748378 · 2/10 · 6 September 2023]

Firstly I enjoy some of the music of the St Vincent band(something the film kind of overlooks, St Vincent is a band not just a single person) however this movie is a complete watch once only if your bored kind of deal.

While I find some of the music of St Vincent ground breaking and really arty, this film did nothing to expand on that legacy. It's essentially highlighting that Ann Erin Clark sits in a room and likes to get high on her own farts a little to much.

Want to see someone act like a spoiled over indulgent brat, well this may very well be the movie for you.

Otherwise, avoid like the plague and stick with the music.

The more I watched the more I felt getting sucked into it

[StarbuckCylonAnnihilator · 10/10 · 18 September 2021]

If you are a St. Vincent fan you are most likely going to enjoy this movie. Was really fun seeing Annie acting. The new songs released in it are 10/10.

A satire that could have been an hour shorter

[aronharde · 5/10 · 1 April 2024]

I want to start off this review by saying that I was not familiar with St. Vincent or her music. This was the first time hearing of her and therefore there might be something I am missing. In fact I rated the movie as a neutral viewer that enjoys horror movies.

It's certainly an interesting premise and I have to give major props that they did a movie like this. However I think there are pacing issues and the movie was not able to entertain throughout. I feel like this whole thing would have worked better as a short movie instead of a feature film. At times it was confusing and felt surreal which in my opinion doesn't make much sense and just felt out of place. It's a decent movie that has its strengths but I don't think it has enough entertainment value for it to be 90 minutes. [4,7/10]

Astonishing!

[rebeccax5 · 10/10 · 7 October 2021]

I only heard of her Annie Clarke/St. Vincent a few months ago, seeing a performance on TV then looking at all the St Vincent videos on Youtube.

I was astonished then as I am astonished even more after seeing this film.

I love the way she plays guitar.

(Why is IMDB using the wrong "Annie Clarke" in the credits?)

Annie Clark On The Road To Nowhere

[tillwesen · 8/10 · 26 July 2022]

Has some good humor in it. I only watched this because of Dakota Johnson (hot), but this St. Vincent chick turned out alright. She's a Texas gal and has some decent, heartfelt tunes. Too bad she and Dakota broke up during the making of this documentary. I really hope it gives Annie (St. Vincent's real name) the inspiration she needs to make another rad record. Maybe she should use her real name, though, St. Vincent sounds like the name of a hospital. The chick who wrote the movie plays in a punk band called Sleater-Kinney. Maybe the St. Vincent moniker was her idea.

"All of it is me, none of it is me" - great, modern artist

[ExpandYourself · 10/10 · 21 December 2023]

Annie Clark / St Vincent has been consistently smart, innovative, humble and humourously knowing. She's a modern artist, made for the screen. A rare talent, sharp as a tack.

This is great if you are a fan, but also turned me into one, as I then trawled through her back catalogue (I knew the Polyphonic Spree, but was unaware of her) and was blown away - better late than never.

This documentary tries to play with the format - and that of mockumentaries. Not always successfully, but always sincerely and from a good place. The concert footage is Cracked Actor/Ziggy good and I always appreciate all Carrie B's work.

Glad this was made in this style, as would be too easy for such a talent or management to just present fans with the usual safe, commercial fodder. Just luxuriate in St Vincent's musicality.

Interesting and funny

[jaimegonzales210 · 8/10 · 24 January 2022]

I laughed out loud several times watching this, even though I am not sure I understood everything going on. I get that it is largely Anne Clark poking fun at herself, and that many of the people involved are friends in real life.

The parts I didn't get:

The running theme of Anne's father being in jail. True or not? It didn't add anything to the story nor was it blamed as anything causing Clark problems.

The "father" who has cancer and is dying but turns out to not be Brownstein's father but is dying. That seemed unnecessary and dark. I have no idea why that was in the story unless I missed a scene that made it make sense.

The scene where Brownstein finds out she was being manipulated (and about her not-father) made no sense to me. Who was behind it and why?

The ending. Totally did not think it was funny or expected.

However, I enjoyed it as a movie. The scene with Dakota Johnson was hilarious and unexpected. Clark seems to be genuinely funny.

I was expecting to see or hear "Los Ageless" but only caught part of it in the background. To be honest, I don't get a lot of St. Vincents music, but Los Ageless is an interesting tune, even if the lyrics are somewhat nonsensical.

Carrie Brownstein is funny in just about everything I have ever seen her in, Anne Clarke should probably look at more scripts, she is talented, and this movie is well worth watching.