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Wall Street Journal

‘Blur: To the End' Review: '90s Rockers Navigate Their 50s

Here's a brilliant idea for a rock documentary: Catch up with a band in the creaky fog of middle age, long after the hits. A certain toll has been exacted, a certain humility achieved, and yet the story is not yet over. In 'Blur: To the End,' three of the four members of the '90s Britpop outfit are having knee problems, everyone is wary of the lurking menace of alcohol, and no one is as pretty as he was in 1995. 'Obviously there's something vaguely hilarious about old men throwing themselves around the stage,' remarks Blur's lead singer and chief songwriter, Damon Albarn. But he is only now catching up to the lyrics he wrote in his 20s: 'A lot of these older songs, they make more sense to me now, even though I wrote them.' Turning to a rock act for wisdom is ordinarily as likely to result in success as a hunt for fresh produce at Home Depot, but as directed by Toby L, 'Blur: To the End' is full of rueful insights broadly applicable far beyond the appeal of the band, of which I was never a big fan. At least not until I saw this film. Wry, reflective, disarming and ultimately exhilarating, it's one of the best rock documentaries I've ever seen. (It's available via video on demand services and in a few theaters.)