Antiheroine, a new film about the musician’s tumultuous life and career, premiered at the festival with some frank admissions but the star not present
A new documentary about the gen X icon and “queen of grunge” Courtney Love caused a stir at the Sundance film festival – without the legendary Hole frontwoman in attendance.
The musician and actor, now 61, was supposed to attend the premiere of Antiheroine, a new retrospective documentary by Edward Lovelace and James Hall that traces her storied life and career, but did not make it for undisclosed reasons. “We’re really gutted that Courtney couldn’t make it tonight to celebrate this moment with us all,” said Lovelace in his introduction for the film’s premiere in Park City, Utah, calling Love “so unfiltered, so truthful”.
“But we just wanted to say it’s been the greatest of privileges to be invited into Courtney’s personal space to make such an intimate, honest film with someone we have so much love for,” he added, thanking Love “for trusting us to – alongside her – tell her story and allowing us to experience the last three years”.
The 98-minute film finds Love at her home in London, where she relocated more than five years ago for a quieter, more grounded life. “I was two and a half years sober,” she says in the film. “I came over here with a winter wardrobe and a dog. I, like, removed myself from everybody. What I didn’t have was anything rational or grounded.” Antiheroine finds Love writing music again after two unsuccessful albums and more than a decade away from the spotlight, grappling with ageing, her volatile past in the spotlight and her abrasive reputation – “I didn’t think about likability ever,” she says in voiceover at the start of the film. “Likability was not a factor.”
