Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields

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Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields

2010

1h 24m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

77%

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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.

Ty Burr

Boston Globe

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.

Rated: 2.5/4

Nov 18, 2010

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Walter V. Addiego

San Francisco Chronicle

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."

Rated: 3/4

Nov 11, 2010

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Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

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.

Rated: 3.5/5

Nov 5, 2010

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Shelagh Rowan-Legg

That Shelf

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.

May 18, 2018

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Jason Anderson

eye WEEKLY

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.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 28, 2010

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Shawn Levy

Oregonian

"Strange Powers" moves with lightness, verve and charm, which Magnetic Fields fans might find amusing, given Merritt's well-known morosity.

Rated: B

Dec 10, 2010

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harrison r

As a huge fan, this was a fascinating view behind the scenes of one of the most difficult-to-read geniuses alive

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

if you're a fan you'll love it, if you aren't it isn't enough to turn you into one

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

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Audience Member

I really liked this and really enjoyed the music.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

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Audience Member

Nice surprise to see this playing on ISat, didn't realize the doc even existed, and really knew next to nothing about Merritt

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

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Audience Member

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.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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Audience Member

Interesting profile of a fascinating and talented musician. The subplot of his relationship with Claudia was particularly compelling.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

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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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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