This Much I Know to Be True begins in an unlikely place, with Nick Cave revealing that he has spent the pandemic working on creating ceramics. The set he’s most proud to show off is a collection of 18 figures that present the birth, life, and death of the devil. In showcasing the steps of this Stations of the Cross-esque creation, Cave shows particular interest in Devil Kills First Child, and The Devil Forgiven—which shows a child coming close to the beast and offering an act of kindness. After Andrew Dominik’s last look at Nick Cave’s work with One More Time with Feeling, which was filmed in the wake of the death of Cave’s 15-year-old son Arthur, Dominik knows that this pain doesn’t have to be central to this latest collaboration, yet from the beginning, he makes it clear that this loss still looms large over Cave and his work.
This Much I Know to Be True is largely Dominik documenting the first live performances of Cave and his frequent collaborator Warren Ellis as they perform songs from the albums “Ghosteen” and “Carnage.” Through these intimate performances and very little interview material, Dominik is able to show the incredible dynamic Cave and Ellis have together when working on these incredible songs. Cave is restrained, focused, and puts emphasis on every word that he’s singing with equal importance. Meanwhile, Ellis seems more free-flowing and eccentric, yet also a musical genius. While Cave seems extremely in control of every scene here, Ellis tells a story about how he came home to find his home trashed, TV on the ground, and how he just laughed the experience off.
But this collaboration has proven to provide incredible results over decades, and watching these two work together in and of itself is fascinating. At one point, Cave says that he gets lost in their collaborations, but often when they’re trying to discover a new song, the pieces that work are “just snippets in an ocean of bullshit.” But it’s the dichotomy of these two and their inherent differences that make them one of the most captivating musical duos around.
In addition to the collaboration between Cave and Ellis, Dominik has been working with both musicians for years now, making him the perfect filmmaker to capture these two at work. Cave and Ellis scored The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, the director’s upcoming Blonde, and filmed Cave and Ellis previously in the aforementioned One More Time with Feeling. But Dominik films these songs simply and beautifully, often just circling around these two as they perform these songs.
But it’s the sparseness of these performances that makes them so powerful. A particular song might include backup singers or an impressive burst of lighting, but the stars of the show are Cave and Ellis, and Dominik knows that. The dark, brooding cinematography from Robbie Ryan (C’mon C’mon, The Favorite) highlights Cave’s commanding presence and the way Ellis can conduct these magnificent performances. Dominik and Ryan are sparse with their direction, but little is needed when Cave and Ellis are at the center of the stage.
This Much I Know to Be True might not dig as deep into the lives of Cave and Ellis as one might hope for a film billed as a documentary, but the performances captured here more than make up for that. The trio of Dominik, Cave, and Ellis have made incredible things together, and This Much I Know to Be True is certainly a strong reminder of how great these three are when united for a project.
Rating: B
This Much I Know to Be True premiered at the 2022 SXSW festival.