Sarah Share:
If I Should Fall from Grace: The Shane MacGowan Story (Ireland, 2001)
Production: órd Scannán na Éireann, Emdee 2000 Productions, TG4
91 min - English. No Finnish subtitles.
Not allowed for persons under 18 years of age.
If I Should Fall from Grace is a bittersweet account of the story of the legendary Pogues vocalist Shane McGowan. Pogues' music was a mixture of traditional Irish music and raw rock'n'roll, and the band made McGowan, its frontman, a world-famous punk rock icon and an archetypal rock'n'roll star. In the height of Pogues' success he developed a serious addiction to various substances, something that he is still paying the price for.
Genius is driven by demons, as they say in business, but Sarah Share's film handles the two sides of success discreetly: it shows both the charismatic, triumphant young poet in his prime and the withered has-been star of today. The film is sad, but it is not pitiful. McGowan does not for one minute dwell on his misfortune. Instead, it is still easy to see in him the strength that made him the most impressive songwriter of the punk rock generation as well as hear the moving voice that can still make grown man break into tears.
If I Should Fall from Grace is a film about creativity and alcohol. The epic archive footage and honest interviews paint a picture of a man who has lost everything but his inner flame.
