In the late ’90s, as Britpop’s laddish bravado began to ring hollow, a sly androgynous figure emerged to subvert rock’s stale paradigms. With smeared lipstick, frilly frocks, and a sneer, Placebo frontman Brian Molko stuck two fingers up at the establishment. A slick new documentary, “This Search for Meaning”, transports us back to the band’s gritty genesis – through eye-opening archive footage and A-list testimonies. But does it truly capture their raw, revolutionary essence?
Radical Arrival
Rewinding to 1996, the film unearths the seismic impact of Placebo’s self-titled debut. “You looked like what I wanted to be,” gushes Yungblud of his first encounter aged 13, experimenting with makeup in his bedroom. In an era where lad-rock reigned supreme, Molko’s subversive blend of slinky androgyny, gothic melodrama, and snarling riffs felt genuinely dangerous.
“Have a look at the singer. Is it a bloke or is it a girl?”
– Incredulous ’90s TV presenter
Clips of bemused interviewers and shock jocks lay bare the hostility Placebo faced for their gender-fluid aesthetic. “At the fag-end of macho Britpop, Molko was taking to the stage wearing dresses and eyeliner,” the film notes. Their mere existence was a defiant rejection of society’s “bourgeois constructs”.
Bowie’s Blessing
Most thrilling is the unearthed footage of a baby-faced Placebo earning the blessing of patron saint David Bowie. Recognizing their untamed potential, the Starman took the fledgling band under his wing. “He gives a handy demonstration of how to age with silliness, style and serious creative gravity every time he appears on screen,” the film observes. If Bowie saw Placebo as kindred bohemian spirits, who are we to argue?
Tamed Provocation?
Less engaging are the contemporary interviews, which find the band in more sedate form. Perched on a studio sofa in dark sunglasses, the present-day Molko insists he isn’t “fussed about fame or celebrity” – a hard sell from the lips of the ultimate fame-hungry provocateur. Declarations that he seeks “total freedom” from society’s constructs feel a tad self-indulgent coming from a comfortably middle-aged rocker.
There are walk-on parts too for celebrity fans – a solemn Benedict Cumberbatch pontificates from the back of a cab. But it’s the scorching, hungry energy of the archive footage that really sets the pulse racing. Witness a wired Molko, all smudged lippy and spiky hair, channeling pure, petulant rage. Here is the incendiary spirit of youthful rebellion in the raw.
Unfiltered Archive
Elsewhere, “This Search for Meaning” can feel a tad workmanlike, dutifully ticking off Placebo’s career peaks. A smattering of famous fans offer polite but bland insights, while the band themselves keep things guarded. “It highlights the potential drawbacks of making a film about a band decades after their first flush,” suggests a source close to the documentary.
Where it soars is in the gritty, unfiltered footage of the band’s early days. Here we see Placebo at their most provocative and potent, with all the raw edges and rough-cut ferocity intact. It’s a jolting reminder of their seditious allure and the hostility they faced as queer mavericks in a macho musical landscape.
“Back in the late ’90s, even if you weren’t blown away by the music, you had to admire Placebo’s bravura and the feral energy of frontman Brian Molko.”
– This Search for Meaning review, The Guardian
Unearthing that bristling archive material, “This Search for Meaning” is at its best when it simply lets the footage speak for itself. Here is the uncut chronicle of a band who arrived like a lit match in a dry field, torching orthodoxies and inflaming the imagination. While the more sedate contemporary scenes lack bite, those scorching early dispatches still sizzle with seditious power.
Unfiltered Archive
Elsewhere, “This Search for Meaning” can feel a tad workmanlike, dutifully ticking off Placebo’s career peaks. A smattering of famous fans offer polite but bland insights, while the band themselves keep things guarded. “It highlights the potential drawbacks of making a film about a band decades after their first flush,” suggests a source close to the documentary.
Where it soars is in the gritty, unfiltered footage of the band’s early days. Here we see Placebo at their most provocative and potent, with all the raw edges and rough-cut ferocity intact. It’s a jolting reminder of their seditious allure and the hostility they faced as queer mavericks in a macho musical landscape.
“Back in the late ’90s, even if you weren’t blown away by the music, you had to admire Placebo’s bravura and the feral energy of frontman Brian Molko.”
– This Search for Meaning review, The Guardian
Unearthing that bristling archive material, “This Search for Meaning” is at its best when it simply lets the footage speak for itself. Here is the uncut chronicle of a band who arrived like a lit match in a dry field, torching orthodoxies and inflaming the imagination. While the more sedate contemporary scenes lack bite, those scorching early dispatches still sizzle with seditious power.
