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Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields

Play trailer Poster for Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields 2010 1h 24m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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77% Tomatometer 31 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Stephin Merritt's distinctive singing voice and witty lyrics about life and love make his band, the Magnetic Fields, a cultishly adored indie rock group. His decades-long friendship with Claudia Gonson, his band mate and manager, provides fuel for his music, while his eccentric working habits contribute to his image as a singularly talented musician and writer. Interviews with fans like fantasy author Neil Gaiman and pop icon Peter Gabriel provide insight into Merritt's influential career.

Critics Reviews

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Ty Burr Boston Globe 11/18/2010
2.5/4
In inviting us along to peek into the life, filmmakers Kerthy Fix and Gail O'Hara don't give us quite enough about the art. Go to Full Review Walter V. Addiego San Francisco Chronicle 11/11/2010
3/4
Overall, this is a nice introduction to an amiably dour tunesmith who once wrote that "all art aspires to the condition of Top 40 bubblegum pop." Go to Full Review Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times 11/05/2010
3.5/5
Clearly, the directors have to be Merritt advocates to hang in there that long, but the film that resulted has elements that keep it from being simply a fan's notes. Go to Full Review Shelagh Rowan-Legg That Shelf 05/18/2018
Generally, any documentary about an artist is either going to be a labour of love or an expos. This film certainly falls into the former category, particularly considering the time and care used to make it. Go to Full Review Jason Anderson eye WEEKLY 12/28/2010
3/5
Merritt seems to loathe the very idea of being in a movie. That impression lends a weird tension to Fix and O'Hara's otherwise affectionate and conventional account of his career to date. Go to Full Review Shawn Levy Oregonian 12/10/2010
B
"Strange Powers" moves with lightness, verve and charm, which Magnetic Fields fans might find amusing, given Merritt's well-known morosity. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Harrison B @emailaddress 09/19/2022 As a huge fan, this was a fascinating view behind the scenes of one of the most difficult-to-read geniuses alive See more 05/22/2012 if you're a fan you'll love it, if you aren't it isn't enough to turn you into one See more 05/06/2012 I really liked this and really enjoyed the music. See more 01/21/2012 Nice surprise to see this playing on ISat, didn't realize the doc even existed, and really knew next to nothing about Merritt See more 11/02/2011 in tom waits's "lie to me" there's a verse that ends with, "i have no use for the truth!" this line, more than it's literal meaning in the context of the song, says everything about waits's persona and songwriting process. i have a feeling the same applies to stephin merritt. however, this documentary gets at neither the lie nor the truth but delivers heavily on the completely mundane. for a movie that apparently took 10 years to make, these directors unturned not one stone. it's as if they didn't want to upset their poor hero. what we're left with is a gutless, fan-girl puff piece that delivers all the goods in the trailer. there isn't even that much good live footage. save yourself the trouble and just listen to the records. you'll get way more out of them. this is weak. See more 09/06/2011 Interesting profile of a fascinating and talented musician. The subplot of his relationship with Claudia was particularly compelling. See more Read all reviews
Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields

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Cast & Crew

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Kerthy Fix

Director

Gail O'Hara

Director

Pamela Tanner Boll

Executive Producer

Kerthy Fix

Executive Producer

Paul Kloss

Executive Producer

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Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields

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Movie Info

Synopsis Stephin Merritt's distinctive singing voice and witty lyrics about life and love make his band, the Magnetic Fields, a cultishly adored indie rock group. His decades-long friendship with Claudia Gonson, his band mate and manager, provides fuel for his music, while his eccentric working habits contribute to his image as a singularly talented musician and writer. Interviews with fans like fantasy author Neil Gaiman and pop icon Peter Gabriel provide insight into Merritt's influential career.
Director
Kerthy Fix, Gail O'Hara
Distributor
Variance Films
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 27, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 18, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$68.1K
Runtime
1h 24m
Sound Mix
Stereo