One of the writers of HBO's Girls said after watching this, she thought that Stephin was a douche but she is obviously wrong. (I also really liked how the documentary wasn't biased or false, but an honest portrayal of a guy in a band. It focused a lot on the dynamics between Merritt and the other band members, which tended to say more about him than the interviews with him and his friends did.)

Lovely portrayal of a remarkable songwriter. Hilarious and touching.

If you've never listened to The Magnetic Fields, I'm not sure I'd recommend this documentary. It tracks the origin of The Magnetic Fields by following the life of it's members - namely Stephin Merritt, the cranky but talented lead. Without smiling once throughout the film, you learn how passionate Merritt is about creating music, and how his friendships have enabled that.

It's less a narrative or conflict driven documentary, and more a retelling of the history of the band. If you haven't heard of The Magnetic Fields, go ahead and listen to every album they've put out then watch this.

I think everyones goal in life is to find their Claudia...

As charming as the song it's named after. I loved that we got to see the interplay between Merritt and the rest of his bandmates, which really demonstrated the discipline and effort that goes into crafting songs for an album. The interviews were illuminating and I certainly felt like I got to know Merritt a bit better (both as a person and as a musician) by the time Strange Powers ended.

(Caveat: as someone whose first Magnetic Fields' album was the one they were working on while this documentary was being filmed, I may be somewhat biased)

One of the writers of HBO's Girls said after watching this, she thought that Stephin was a douche but she is obviously wrong. (I also really liked how the documentary wasn't biased or false, but an honest portrayal of a guy in a band. It focused a lot on the dynamics between Merritt and the other band members, which tended to say more about him than the interviews with him and his friends did.)

Not a huge Magnetic Fields fan (except for Distortion, which is awesome), but I do respect Merritt as a songwriter. This doc didn't really make me want to delve deeper into his discography which, as the very least, it should have.

Watchable, not necessarily enlightening. At least the music is fantastic.

Great portrait of a criminally underrated band.

Lovely portrayal of a remarkable songwriter. Hilarious and touching.

A glimpse into the messiness of a process that produces gems.