Gorillaz: Reject False Icons

Denholm Hewlett's 2019 documentary records three years of Gorillaz from the inside. The footage covers the making of the albums Humanz and The Now Now, the experiments in the studio and the world tour that followed. What distinguishes it is access: the director is the son of Jamie Hewlett, the band's visual creator, and can hold the camera at a closeness nobody objects to. Damon Albarn's working method is the most interesting part; songs take shape in the room with invited musicians and a great many ideas are thrown away in the process. Vince Staples, Danny Brown and Mavis Staples appear in the material. The account follows no orderly chronology and explains nothing to anyone unfamiliar with the band. Who it's for: listeners of Gorillaz and anyone curious about how albums get made. Who it's not for: viewers wanting to learn the band's history; this is not an introduction.