You’re Gonna Miss Me

*/****     YOU’RE GONNA MISS ME (NR)

Schizophrenia is a mental illness characterized by impairments in the perception or expression of reality, but no clear contributing factors have been found for why this psychiatric diagnosis can be found in young adults. There is strong evidence that suggests that the use of certain drugs can trigger the onset of schizophrenia, or that those suffering from schizophrenia use drugs as a means to overcome negative feelings. Schizophrenia and substance abuse are at the forefront in the 2007 documentary You’re Gonna Miss Me.

Singer and songwriter Roky Erickson co-founded the psychedelic rock band the 13th Floor Elevators in Austin, Texas in late 1965. The group, which inspired later rock acts like Janis Joplin and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, was slowly forced to dismantle after Erickson fell hard into heroin, LSD and marijuana use, which led to trouble with the law and with Erickson later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Erickson would be sent to the Austin State Hospital and later the Rusk State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where Roky received electroconvulsive therapy and Thorazine treatments. Once released, Erickson went into hiding and lived with his mother Evelyn, who did not believe in providing medication to control Roky’s schizophrenia. But a court battle in 2001 saw legal custody of Erickson granted to Roky’s youngest brother Sumner, who helped Roky receive medical treatment for his illness.

A 2007 Independent Spirit Award nominee for Best Documentary, You’re Gonna Miss Me has all the makings of what could have been a gripping look into a fascinating individual, but director Kevin McAlester’s debut film doesn’t spend enough time providing the audience with any perspective or insight into who Roky Erickson is, and instead opts to focus primarily on a feebly-told familial problem that serves more as exploitation rather than provocative filmmaking.

The movie delves into Erickson’s constant drug binges, but never details how Roky’s substance abuse might have led to his shattered mental state, and why the drugs seem to have had a more alarming effect on Roky than other artists. And just as quickly as the movie touches this subject, it rapidly switches to a family problem that has been poorly constructed on film and instantly leaves with it a lot more unanswered questions than it does answers.

You’re Gonna Miss Me strongly resembles Jeff Feuerzeig’s 2006 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston about a manic depressive singer and songwriter, but unlike Feuerzeig, McAlester doesn’t allow enough of a glance into the riches and the successes of Erickson. And while the movie presents some minor archival performance footage that gives us a glimpse into the fame once achieved by Roky, the film spends entirely too much time expounding his greatness, rather than showcasing it.

A documentary film focusing on a sad and tragic person, it’s unfortunate You’re Gonna Miss Me doesn’t give us enough knowledge into this man we barely even know.