It is with a certain anxiety and a great anticipation that I watched Benjamin Statler’s documentary, ‘Soaked In Bleach’ on Vimeo on demand. I wanted to experience it in a theater, with strangers around me reacting to it, but I guess Courtney Love and her lawyers robbed me of that pleasure… the screenings got canceled at Arena Cinema in Hollywood and will probably not be re-scheduled any time soon. This does say a lot about freedom of speech in Hollywood, but who cares, we have the internet and Vimeo! Even Courtney can’t do anything to stop the information, because, and this will probably be not a surprise, she doesn’t look very good in this movie.
For more than two decades, people who have tried to disprove the Seattle Police Department’s decision to rule Kurt Cobain’s death a suicide, have been treated as lunatic and conspiracy theorists among other pejorative denominations, but these same people may have the last word. There were previous attempts (Broomfield’s 1998 documentary ‘Kurt and Courtney’ comes to mind) but this time, we have the full vision of Tom Grant, the private detective who was hired by Courtney Love herself in April 1994.
If Brett Morgen got full access to music and everything-Kurt for his manipulative ‘Montage of Heck’, ‘Soaked in Bleach’ probably didn’t get access to any of Nirvana’s music considering the music we can hear at the end. Instead, the soundtrack of the movie is this heavy rain incessantly falling on Seattle, portraying the Northwest as the most depressive place in the United States.
The film focuses on Grant’s investigation during the days preceding the discovery of Cobain’s body and the aftermath of the event. The movie is built around re-enactment scenes and interviews of experts, but of course the star of the movie is Tom Grant himself, appearing in person and narrating his story, but also played by Daniel Roebuck, who is incredibly believable. Grant looks like the rock of this movie, the incorruptible and clean conscience who is going to lead us to the truth, he is this debonair detective with full integrity and who can’t believe what he sees when Courtney Love (played by a convincing Sarah Scott despite a great discrepancies between Love’s and her voice) opens the door, just wearing a night gown/see-through-négligée.
We follow Grant during his investigation, first hired by Courtney Love to find her missing husband after he left an L.A. rehab clinic and returned to Seattle, he is then tossed around everywhere, except in the right place, the greenhouse where Cobain’s body will eventually be found by electrician Gary Smith, five days later.
I usually don’t really like scenes of reenactment, but these ones totally work, they are especially credible because of the constant use of Tom Grant’s real audio recordings, adding authenticity at each scene. ‘I tape all my calls’ he says at one point, and these phone conversations between Grant and Courtney or her lawyer are the best evidence he could provide. Can they deny they ever said this? That’s simply impossible.
If you are an expert about the Cobain case (and I have met many of you on the internet), you have read each corner of Tom Grant’s website, and you will probably already know all the details of the story, but if you have never heard of the investigation, be ready for a series of revelations, because you will be presented an overwhelming amount of facts leading to think that Kurt Cobain’s death, at the very least, deserves another examination.
If the manipulative side of Love’s character doesn’t come as a surprise, it is interesting to hear her telling lies after lies after her ‘Montage of Heck’ sanctification. She is still chain smoking but this time she appears totally money-and-fame-driven, jealous of her bass player (Kristen Pfaff who may have had an affair with Kurt), desperately pushing the suicide card at any moment, and mentioning the couple’s eminent divorce in every conversation. She even admits that the mysterious note from Rome (that she of course destroyed) was mentioning a divorce
‘Soaked in Bleach’ certainly goes where ‘Montage of Heck’ didn’t go, and the Rome episode, only brushed with a few more Courtney lies in Morgen’s doc, is here described as an accidental drug overdose (not a suicide), and confirmed by the Italian doctor who treated Cobain…. and this is the strength of the movie, the second part is truffled with numerous interviews of experts, from attorney Rosemary Carroll (also Frances Bean’s godmother) to Seattle ex-chief of Police Norm Stamper, former president of American Academy of Forensic Science Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, New York Police Homicide Commander Vernon J. Geberth, Forensic pathologist Dr. Vincent Dimaio, San Diego Chief toxicologist Iain Mcintyre and a few others, analyzing every detail and fact of the case, building the case for murder, or at least bringing some serious doubt in the official story.
Everything is there, all the forensic explanations regarding the 3-time lethal heroin dose, the position of the gun and location of the bullet shell, the suspicious suicide note with the practice sheet found in Love’s backpack. Plus, there’s Carroll’s own contribution, her admittance that Kurt had asked her to remove Courtney from his will, and that Courtney had asked her to locate ‘the meanest, most vicious’ divorce lawyer she could find. The movie is a meticulous exposé of all the points of the investigation, disproving each part which had been argued by Grant’s detractors over the years. And each fact speaks up against suicide.
Still, how could there be these two Kurt Cobains? How could Kurt be this constantly depressed and suicidal individual in ‘Montage of Heck’, an image heavily supported by the media, and how could he be here this guy from Aberdeen who was, yes doing drugs, but not at all suicidal according to best friend Dylan Carlson, several childhood friends, Nirvana’s manager and former musicians? Looking how often Courtney Love tries to feed us with the mythology in both movies, we can only decide what side we want to believe.
But why have we reached this point? Why was Cobain’s death ruled a suicide the same day the body was discovered? Why did the police rush to conclusion without even waiting for the toxicology report or checking the fingerprints? Did they assume it was a suicide only based on Love’s statement? ‘We don’t develop photographs on suicide’ said Seattle Police homicide division Sgt. Cameron to Grant. Why is the autopsy report still not made public?
There’s a reason why this story never went away, and the expose of all these evidence is troubling to say the least. This is Tom Grant’s personal battle. ‘This changed my life forever,’ he said at one point. ‘Kurt Cobain’s name goes through my mind 3-400 times every day’. This is a guy who has endured continuing public discredit and humiliation, and numerous threats I can only imagine, but he never gave up. ‘Soaked in Bleach’ is the culmination of the fight of his career, and the movie makes the information available for everyone, in chronological order, killing the myth and exposing the facts. I don’t know if it will make the case to be reopened, but I bet that this time it is totally Buzz-Osborne-approved.
Great piece Alyson
Thanks Marc!
Great article Alyson! Well written.
The case needs to be reopened and examined by independent experts who are not friends of Courtney like the first set was. She was friends with the coroner and the drug cop, for Christ’s sake. Plus, she knew how to work the media and had them eating out of her hand. Act obnoxious/drive up interest/grant interviews only to those reporters who write what you want. She’s said it herself. She’s also admitted publically that she lies about everything, “but not in my lyrics.” Duh.
As one who has pored over this case for almost twenty years, I know of several pieces or threads of evidence that were not woven into this film. As Sam Hill notes, above, there were some troubling aspects of the medical examiner’s involvement in the case, just to cite one unexplored example. My impression is that this was a disciplined attempt by the filmmaker to focus on solid evidence and avoid introducing even compelling key pieces like the lie-detector testimony of El Duce. I thought they did a great job. I am a huge admirer of Tom Grant. Thanks for the hood and thoughtful review.
Great review of the movie. I think Tom Grant did a great, selfless job of investigating Kurt Cobain’s murder. Ian Halperin and Max Wallace also did very good investigative research and reporting in their books on the case. Ben Statler made a excellent movie illuminating Grant’s work. The only flaw may be the failure to explore federal authorities motives for not investigating Courtney Love’s foul play and police foul play around a case that had international attention. Doing this would help explain Love’s bizarre life that included teen prostitution with army generals, right-wing politics and traveling with CIA agents at 17 years old. For this documentation, see Drugs as Weapons Against Us: The CIA’s Murderous Targeting of SDS, Panthers, Hendrix, Lennon, Cobain, Tupac and other Activists.
I watched it as well and I agree Alyson, great documentery. This case should definitely be examined. I would say reexamined but aparently it would have had to be examined in the first place. Great job on this article.
Great review, loved the film.
I am just one of many long time pre/post nevermind, nirvana/cobain fans. For years I have just tried to enjoy the music and not let myself get pulled into the personal life or lives of those genius minds that musically changed the world including mine. But this is where as fans I feel completely justified in making whatever noise and joining in to find peace and justice for those that deserve it – Kurt, Frances and all close to them. May the truth find its voice, to those shameful few who had a hand in taking a father, son, brother, friend and artistic genius.
there’s no such thing as “3 times the lethal dose” of heroin, tolerance builds fast, and even though a doctor demonstrated that a patient could stand on one leg with a higher mg/ml of opiates in his system. Tom Grant tries to say that the doctor is wrong, without any proof, and clearly not knowing what’s he’s talking about. He doesn’t let a doctor refute his main claim, he’s not interested in actual evidence, he is making too much money to suddenly realize he might be wrong
“Tom Grant’s assertion that 1.52 milligrams of heroin per litre of blood would have incapacitated Kurt was discounted by Dr. Colin Brewer, formerly director of Westminster Hospital. He gave us this color slide of a patient balancing easily on one leg, who had taken the equivalent of over twice the amount taken by Kurt. In any event, Dr. Brewer said it would take 30 seconds to one minute for the heroin to circulate to take effect, leaving ample time to fire a gun.”
You’re basing that on the test from ‘Kurt and Courtney’, which Nick Broomfield used to say he no longer believed the murder theory. The trouble with that experiment was that it was methadone swallowed, not heroin injected in the bloodstream. Kurt did not swallow three times a lethal dose of methadone so this experiment does not prove anything relevant to this case. Broomfield glossed over this important distinction and as a result that part of his film was misleading.
Dr Colin Brewer used methadone which is ingested orally. It would take much longer than a couple of minutes to take effect. Also if my memory serves correctly I believe Dr Colin Brewer was subsequently disgraced. Kurt had 3 x the highest survivable level of heroin in his blood. That is actually over 75 x the amount which would kill your average addict.
Nope. Injected into the circulatory system. “Fall out” (where the drug user dozes off, often with the needle still dangling in their arm) occurs immediately with their “normal” intake. Not some tiny amount to get by… a real dose… and i’d say this this was beyond. If they did it in any amount extra, it’s exactly as they say. No coordination to pull it, off let alone tidy up his heroine kit, putting everything back first. She’s a murderess and Dylan was her puppet.
All you need bear in mind is this: Tom Grant has been publically accusing Courtney Love of having a hand in Kurt Cobain’s death since December 1994; over twenty years, now. She’s yet to sue him for defamation.
Make of her inaction what you will…
Ms. Camus,
Thank you for watching, Soaked in Bleach with an open and intelligent mind! You describe the movie perfectly, as well as the many wonderful characteristics of Tom Grant without whom none of these important questions would have been raised. I agree that Ben Statler did such a professional and respectful job with the material. His vision, (unlike Brett Morgan) was uncorrupted.
I can not see how any person could watch this film given all the top expert testimony and not demand the Kurt Cobain case be reopened. It’s been far too long that the Seattle Police Department has been shielded by their own ineptitude.
Thanks for shinning a light!
Interesting to add, the Medical Examiner that declared it a suicide was friends with Courtney. (He died last year in a base jumping accident…) He was actually a punk rock promoter before becoming the ME and was good friends with Love.
Also I didn’t realize, (and not mentioned in the movie) that Kristen Pfaff, the Hole bass player Love insisted was having an affair with Kurt, was ALSO KILLED a couple weeks after him. How?
By heroin overdose in a locked room, after completing rehab and by all accounts being clean and no longer using.
VERY compelling. At the least – can someone please look into this stuff?
Thanks for all your comments, much appreciated!
If they were all so concerned that Kurt was going to kill himself why did they leave the shotgun and the new box of bullets in the house? Courtney could have informed the cops about the gun, as she did prior when she started the suicide dialog and the cops would have come, searched the house for it and taken it away. She didn’t. Michael Dewitt, Eldon Hoke and Richard Allen Wrench are all suspect. Hoke said he told Wrench about the hit in the Kurt and Courtney interview. Hoke wound up dead on the train tracks in between his house and Wrench’s house in Riverside, Ca 2 days later. Where did Hoke and Wrench get the money to move to Riverside, and in tandem, were they working together? Most likely Hoke’s death was Wrench, a martial arts geek, cleaning up his loose end. Courtney and Dylan are complicit in Kurt’s death by leaving the shotgun in the house while knowing it was unsecured and available for ANYONE with access to the house to use. Courtney and Dylan are most likely liable in civil court for manslaughter.