This film about Kid Cudi is that rare musician-focused documentary, one as sensitive, fully formed and noble in its intentions as the artist himself.
In “A Man Named Scott,” a documentary about Kid Cudi, the genre-defying rapper’s longtime friend, Shia LaBeouf, and one of his superfans, Timothée Chalamet, are among the men who say Cudi helped them open up emotionally. They acknowledge Cudi for reshaping hip-hop on his own terms.
But the director Robert Alexander’s documentary doesn’t only remind you that the artist (whose real name is Scott Mescudi) revolutionized the genre, softening its conventional definition of masculinity by simply being himself. The film additionally presents a moving rumination on art and individuality, and the invaluable connection between both.
Through the biographical self-reflective framework of the doc, Alexander leads the viewer to examine art from a psychological and representational perspective. The significance of Black visibility in the arts is a prominent thread, and watching Willow Smith dance like no one is watching to one of her favorite Cudi songs, “Sky Might Fall,” expresses Cudi’s profound influence on the youth who were led by him in their own dismantling of social constructs.
More broadly, this is a film about the music that makes us, but Alexander poses a fundamental concern as he explores that topic: What toll does the development of this work take on its creator?
Cudi opens up about his struggles. Actually, he divulges a lot — though he stops short of detailing the process of making his 2015 album Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven,” admitting it was “a really dark time” for him. Thanks to its perceptive insights and a range of interviewees, from fellow industry professionals to a clinical psychologist, “A Man Named Scott” is that rare musician-focused doc, one as sensitive, fully formed and noble in its intentions as Cudi himself.
A Man Named Scott
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes. Watch on Amazon.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
