I have never seen the “genius” in Daniel Johnston's art and music. In The Devil and Daniel Johnston, there are people who declare Johnston a better lyricist than Dylan, more creative than Brian Wilson, and as influential as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. There is even a segment where they lump Johnston together with Van Gogh and Sylvia Plath. I think this is utter nonsense, and perhaps a sad reflection on the times we are living in. I do think that Johnston is creative though, and he has written some very good songs, and drawn some amazing pictures. All of his art, whether it is music or illustration, contains a child-like innocence, and enough heart and raw emotion to choke an elephant. It is just too bad that he will never get to develop his art past the stages of childhood – I would love to see and hear what a truly adult-minded Daniel Johnston would create.
The Devil and Daniel Johnston is a remarkably well made documentary. It is heart felt, full of passion, and sheds some light on the truth behind the living legend. Although there is plenty of “Daniel's the best!” sentimentality peppered throughout, the filmmakers do an exemplary job at showing the real Johnston, warts and all as they say. With voice over recorded by Johnston himself (he was a bit of an audio junkie, and recorded thousands of hours of journal entries) accompanied by plenty of home video footage, we get to see the journey of a young and creative man traveling down a road of self destruction and utter lunacy. We hear Daniel explain how he thought he had cast demons out of an elderly woman (who broke her ankles trying to escape the madman), and how he thought he was on a mission from God – Blues Brothers jokes aside.
However, the most heart wrenching moment comes from a story told by Johnston's incredible father. As Mr. Johnston relates how his son tried to kill them both while flying in a small plane, we can see the pain and frustration on his face, but, most of all, we can see, and feel, the unconditional love this man has for his deeply troubled son. Mr. Johnston breaks into tears as he relates the story, almost as if he still can't believe it actually happened. There seems to be a lot of this in Daniel's life – a lot of moments where people around him are left scratching their heads in utter disbelief, sometimes in a good and fascinated way, and sometimes in a “what in God's name is going on” kind of way.
It is not all doom and gloom though, there is real healing and power in the arts. When Daniel picks up his guitar, or sits in front of his piano and microphone, a wonderful transformation occurs, a metamorphoses for all to see, captured by this great film. We see a terribly conflicted and disturbed man, open up his heart and soul, as he passionately sings about his life, lost love, and day to day minutia. As Daniel performs, the mundane and the ugly, become beautiful and remarkable when filtered through his psyche. And, although I do not share the praise thrust upon him by so many of his peers and fans, I can recognize that there is a special and unique quality captured in his songs.
Ultimately, what we learn from the film is that Johnston is not the true hero of his own story. I kept thinking of his life in Phildickian terms. Like Manfred, the gifted autistic child in Dick's Martian Time Slip, or Ragle Gumm, a man manipulated by unseen forces in Time out of Joint, it is almost as if Daniel Johnston is completely unaware of the people and the factors that that are the catalysts for his success.
The true heroes in Johnston's story are the people that surrounded him, and guided him, and loved him. People like his parents who were often at their wit's ends, mired in frustration at their strange son, but continued to love him and give him the financial and emotional support he needed. And, people like his one-time manager who basically created the hype, and gave Daniel the drive, that spawned his career, and who continues to foster Johnston's artistic career to this very day. The Devil and Daniel Johnston shows us these heroes, and shoes how they influenced his life, and, in turn, how their lived were influenced by this creative and troubled man.
