What We Do Is Secret

After sitting in distribution purgatory for several years, debut director Rodger Grossman’s biopic about hardcore punk icon Darby Crash is finally seeing the dark of cinema screens. Unfortunately, the movie does little to elucidate the experiences and suicidal personality of a singer who was more of a poseur than a musician. Shane West does a credible job incarnating the leader of the L.A. punk band The Germs, whose biggest claim to fame came from their inclusion in Penelope Spheeris’ documentary "The Decline of Western Civilization." If ever there were a need for subtitles to clarify undistinguishable lyrics, it’s during the film’s many scenes of the band playing songs that make the Sex Pistols or The Clash sound like masters of harmony and rhythm by comparison. The overrated influence of The Germs on punk music is displayed early in the film when England’s well-established punk band The Damned sit through The Germs’ first gig with open contempt for their amateurish playing. Of the Los Angeles punk bands, "X" was far more influential if for no other reason than they performed clear and melodic songs with a high degree of musicianship and put out numerous albums that represented the energy of the punk movement. It’s telling that X’s drummer D.J. Bonebrake left the Germs after a very brief stint, as did Belinda Carlisle of the "Go-Gos." In the end, Darby Crash proves to not be a very interesting subject because he committed suicide before accomplishing much. Stiv Bators (of "The Dead Boys" and "The Lords of the New Church") would have made a far more worthy subject for Grossman to tackle, but Bators’ life story would require a more experienced writer and director.

Rated R, 92 mins. (C-)