Alien Boy: The Life and Death of James Chasse

The tragic story of James Chasse is not just for viewers familiar with the late Portland rocker's role in the burgeoning grunge-punk scene of the 1980s. While there is ample evidence of that history in director Brian Lindstrom's documentary Alien Boy—including video footage of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain discussing Chasse's band The Wipers—the larger tale told here is of Chasse's mental-health decline over time. The filmmaker is especially focused (via interviews with Chasse's friends and family) on the growing schizophrenia that led Chasse to run from Portland police one night after being accused of public urination. What followed is a shocking account of official brutality and negligence that ended in a terrible death for a man described as harmless by those who knew him. Alien Boy hits home—both as a specific story of one troubled human being known by many in Portland, and a cautionary tale of what happens when police are unprepared to deal compassionately and professionally with the mentally disturbed. Recommended. (T. Keogh)