A glimpse into the fragile life of an underrated artist.
A guy with a heart-wrenching mix of delicacy and melancholy, Elliott Smith fell victim to an American healthcare system that thrives on antidepressants. Despite this, he became one of the most influential faces in the folk genre, inspiring an entire generation to come. A multi-instrumentalist originally from Nebraska but later based in Portland, Oregon, his songs stand out for their creative chord progressions, while his soft, whispered voice tells stories of hidden suffering through brilliant metaphors. Yet, he remains an unfairly underrated artist whose talent would only be truly recognized years after his death.
Lucky Three – an Elliott Smith Portrait
by filmmaker Jem Cohen
Recorded from October 17–20, 1996 in Portland, Oregon.
Released in 1997.
16mm, 11 min.
“A cross between a video and a documentary, but actually being neither of the two.”
Elliott Smith
Directed by Jem Cohen, Lucky Three is a hybrid, “a cross between a video and a documentary, but actually being neither of the two,” as Elliott put it in an interview with MTV’s “Indie Outing.”
Filmed in 1996, back when the only people who had probably heard of Elliott Smith were the residents of Portland, Lucky Three is a short film with a melancholic tone that captures Elliott on a day trip, blending frames of the journey with mini-live sessions recorded in impromptu, bare locations. A chair, a guitar, and a microphone. The rest is all him, with his talent and his soft, at times devastated voice filling the empty scenes. Only the images describe the man. Elliott says four words in the entire film; it’s his music that does the talking. You get the feeling he already knew his fate.
Who needs a state-of-the-art studio and a perfectly curated Instagram profile when you have this kind of talent? Those were the days when substance mattered more than appearance.
Elliott died on October 21, 2003, at the age of 34, under suspicious circumstances. It’s a case still open and maybe destined to stay that way, adding a touch of mystery to a life that was simple yet complicated, a life that turned emotions into timeless masterpieces.
