MISSION TO LARS is at heart a road movie, complete with the obligatory scenes of American highways, albeit an unlikely one.
Tom Spicer is a man with an extreme form of autism known as fragile X syndrome and a massive Metallica fan – he’s got all their records and is fond of saying over and over again “Wanna meet Lars, wanna meet Lars,” Lars Ulrich being the US heavy metal band’s founder and drummer.
So, when his brother and sister Kate and William finally feel the need to assuage their guilt at having neglected Tom for years, what could be more natural for them than to make his wish come true?
They therefore make a plan for Tom to meet Lars, helped by their media industry contacts – Kate’s a journalist, William a filmmaker – and to film the process.
However, finding a way into the heart into the heart of the Metallica machine proves much easier than dealing with Tom’s illness, which can make him stubborn and contrary.
In fact, at times it seems that the mission to Lars is more for the siblings’ benefit than his and, even though they eventually get Tom on a plane to the United States, their bickering does nothing to ease Tom’s extreme anxiety at being removed from his comfort zone and reassuring routines.
Kate’s first attempts at driving the massive motor home that will take them to three Metallica concerts in three cities in Nevada and California are tentative and jumpy, and it has to be said that the documentary and filming skills aren’t the most accomplished either.
Up to this point, MISSION TO LARS doesn’t really have much going for it. Even the delights of Yosemitenational park which they visit are dulled by grey, wet weather.
The good news is that three Metallica concerts mean that there are three opportunities to meet Lars and, as each meets with varying degrees of success, the doco finally begins to hit its straps. As it does so, this road movie becomes less and less about Tom dream and more and more about not just Kate and William’s journey but also the journeys we all make – or fail to make because we chicken out.
Ultimately, MISSION TO LARS is a film of redemption and empowerment, a feel-good movie in the best and most fulfilling sense of the phrase. Despite a bumpy start it’s definitely one of the must-see films of the British Film Festival.
MISSION TO LARS is playing in Sydney (and other Australian cities including Canberra) as part of the British Film Festival. It screens in Sydney on Monday November 25 and Tuesday November 26. By popular demand the film is also screening the Palace Cinema, Byron Bay on Sunday November 24 at 10.45am.