Stuff You Gotta Watch: I Am A Cliché
I Am A Cliché presents Marianne Elliott-Said as a human being, not the disposable pop star described in her lyrics as Poly Styrene. This deeply moving documentary looks beyond the late X-Ray Spex frontwoman’s fame into a personal life fraught with mental health struggles and resilience. Narrated by director/daughter Celeste Bell with excerpts from Elliott-Said’s teenage diary, the film offers an intimate glimpse into her life after punk.
The last time Poly Styrene was featured in a documentary occurred in 1979, just months before she would leave her band at the height of their success. I Am A Cliché proves there were multiple reasons for her exhaustion. As an act of protest against the fickle music press, the young artist shaved her head. By the time she confronted vicious crowds at CBGB’s on the band’s first US tour, Elliott-Said was on the verge of collapse.
Though the story typically ends there, I Am A Cliché gives equal time to Elliott-Said’s years outside of X-Ray Spex. After being dropped by her major label, she fled a life of poverty to join the Hare Krishnas, reuniting with saxophonist Lora Logic in an unexpected twist of fate. Styrene’s smooth 1980 solo album Translucence was savaged by critics at the time, but is very worthy of revisiting, as is 1986’s Gods & Goddesses. With Bell opening her heart to understand her mother’s complicated history, this film gives fans the same opportunity.
Review by Jesse Locke. Check out the full archive of the Stuff You Gotta Watch column.