St. Vincent, the Grammy-Winning Artist, celebrates five years of the self-reflective mockumentary Comedy Thriller titled ‘The Nowhere Inn.’
On January 25th, 2020, The Nowhere Inn premiered at Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The film is St. Vincent’s feature writing and acting debut, giving viewers the most in-depth look at her life yet, but through a heavily stylized and fictionalized lens. The film was also set to screen at the SXSW and Tribeca film festivals, though the unfortunate timing of the pandemic canceled those events. The film didn’t see wide release until 2021, when movie theater attendance was still at record low levels. The Nowhere Inn later made its streaming premiere on Hulu, but the repeated delays certainly hurt the release’s promotion and awareness.
The film’s soundtrack features new, original music by St. Vincent, but the soundtrack album only received a fraction of St. Vincent’s usual album streams. Which is a shame because The Nowhere Inn film and album are reflective of what makes her so great, and fans can’t love these works if they don’t know that they exist.
The film itself is a semi-autobiographical mockumentary that switches between comedy, drama, and surreal thriller. The film is written by and stars Annie Clark/St. Vincent and Carrie Brownstein, two real-life longtime friends (with St. Vincent’s friend Dakota Johnson appearing in a fun bit part). Brownstein is an actress, writer, and musician of Sleater-Kinney and Portlandia fame.
She and St. Vincent have collaborated before – the singer has made multiple guest appearances on Portlandia over the years. Leading up to the production of this movie, St. Vincent produced the 2019 album The Center Won’t Hold for Sleater-Kinney. The two also used to date. Brownstein and Clark play themselves in a meta look at their friendship and careers, with the film centering around a fictional documentary that Brownstein directs about St. Vincent.
The conflict comes in when Clark’s private life is too boring for a film. Her St. Vincent persona is exciting, but Annie Clark is boring; the film states this explicitly. While the filmmaking gets more and more surreal throughout, the film remains direct in its commentary on its subject. As a limo driver tells Clark at the beginning of the film, “Don’t worry, we’ll find out who you are.” Clark tries to become more like St. Vincent, becoming callous and mean to those around her and trying to force a rockstar persona that feels inauthentic. “We’re not so different, me and her,” Clark tries to explain to Brownstein about herself and her persona.
The problem with the film is that its separate genre elements clash in a way that undermines the drama of it all. The meta-commentary is on the nose, and usually the commentary works well in conjunction with the comedy, but the way the film ends unfortunately leaves the viewer wanting more. The biggest missed opportunity of the film is that the song “Waiting on a Wave” from The Nowhere Inn album is missing.
As she explained in a now-deleted Instagram post, “‘Waiting on a Wave’ is my ‘St. Vincent’ theme song. It is written from the perspective of the “St.Vincent” persona taking over. The lyrics are a wrestling match between my romantic ideal, and the inner voices of cynicism and paranoia.” The song would have been perfect for the climax of the movie, yet it isn’t there.
The film might not be for general audiences. The in-depth look into this mysterious and closed-off artist won’t be as interesting if you don’t know who she is. She blends fictional elements (Dakota Johnson as her girlfriend) with real details (her father in prison), which most people won’t be able to distinguish. Plus, the humor is extremely dry. If viewers don’t share the specific sense of humor of the film, the film isn’t as fun and doesn’t make as much sense.
However, The Nowhere Inn is still a must-see for diehard St. Vincent fans. The real concert footage used in this movie is incredible, documenting her Fear the Future Tour and her album MASSEDUCTION. Songs from that album play throughout, with St. Vincent embracing the pop art style of that era. Though the dichotomy of artist and self is on the nose, no one does it like St. Vincent. She’s built her career on her persona; fans will want to see it explored.
I am an Austin, TX-based photographer and filmmaker. I moved from Houston to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where I graduated in 2022. I'm a lifelong music lover and spend tons of time attending shows and making music. Some current favorites are Sophie May, Farmer’s Wife, and K. Flay.
