Allison Anders' gloriously lyrical tale of two decades in the life of fictional singer-songwriter Denise Waverley (lleanna Douglas) works better than most actual biopics.
Douglas delivers a tour de force as the rich girl signed by Spector-esque producer John Turturro for her lyric-scribbling abilities, all the while running the full gamut of haircuts and husbands (Eric Stoltz as a beatnik love cheat. Matt Dillon as an unbalanced Beach Boys-type frontman), triumphs and tragedies.
With excellent performances all round (especially from Turturro) it's a real pleasure to watch and has a real emotional edge when tragedy strikes.