Having lived my youth the 1980's, Juice had always existed and was still creating new music. He was one of the (if not The) fathers of Finnish-speaking Rock-genre still active today.
Going to the film I was eager to find out what aspect of his life the director had selected as the key message. After the film, I'm still second-guessing myself whether I think he had made the right choice.
Juice is a movie of the personal life of an uncertain, vindictive, stubborn, selfish and extremely talented musician. However, the movie also portraits the shallowness of life by making the protagonist a normal man whose struggles are shared with numerous other humans. Juice Leskinen is not made a bigger-than-life character either as a writer, performer or an alcoholic. And there lies my struggle.
Humanizing a legend is always a tricky task. While it may convey a true picture, it simultaneously removes the views that are often needed to make a film interesting. This film made a good task in making Juice mortal but simultaneously I started to think why do I want to see a movie about the "normal days" of a rock-legend. Sometimes the legend is made in the films about musicians through other dimensions than the music, but in my in my view this film was able to soften the edge of the negative parts as well. So, I'm still struggling with my overall view.
However, two things I know I did not enjoy. His wife's role was written very one-dimensional and did not live up to the expectations. And I still do not understand the reason for the few short clips of Juice's childhood. Replacing them with deeper portraits of his band dynamics or playing longer cuts of his excellent music would have made my experience much more pleasant.
The cinematography was very interesting. The movie had an unfocused and grainy feel of a 70's homefilm and that I did enjoy.
So, should you go and see? Yes, I think so, but do not expect a legend, neither as a man or a musician.
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