My Chemical Romance: Life on the Murder Scene

My Chemical Romance formed in New Jersey in 2001 and were playing arenas within four years. The documentary tells that rise through the band's own footage: rehearsal room recordings, the van tour, the first club shows, then festival stages. Most of the material is not professional and the film does not hide it. At the center is Gerard Way's personal history: how the eleventh of September pushed him into forming the band, his struggle with addiction, and how that got out of hand as the band grew. The members address the camera directly, and those sections are the most candid part of the film. Brad Nolan directed. The structure is built like a diary: chronological, raw and unarranged. Who it's for: Fans of the band, and anyone curious about the 2000s emo and punk scene and archive-driven music documentary. Who it's not for: Newcomers will be missing the context, and the image quality is amateur throughout. There is also almost no musical analysis.