Die Kunst des Scheiterns: Chuck Connelly - Nicht zu verkaufen

I had no idea who Chuck Connelly was - nor did I really care to be honest. However, the description of the documentary was enticing. I was not disappointed - watching it was pretty amazing.

It's a sad story (documentary) of a guy with some good artistic talent who enjoys some early success in the 1980s, but then becomes his own worst enemy when he becomes a sort of egotistical primadonna. He lashed out at everyone from art dealers to Martin Scorsese (who created an artist character fashioned after him in "New York Stories"). You can guess the result.

One often thinks of artists as agents of emotional expressiveness. There's even the iconic stereotype of the tortured genius composer/artist who supposedly lives in a "special" world. Well, I was really glad to watch this documentary to get reconnected with the real world. A sociopath is a sociopath - no matter the talent.

The fact that there are videos of Connelly's tumultuous behavior and life during his fall from early success is amazing. It's haunting to watch.