This powerful music video documentary for singer-songwriter Hak Baker delves into the mundane truth of drug addiction. Dopehead is a sometimes difficult watch. It follows different Londoners attempting to balance their drug dependency with the unremarkable rituals of daily life. And amidst this unravelling, Hak Baker makes brief appearances as a witness and balladeer. Baker's music is cheerily frank and observational, and this video is a provocative counterpoint.Director Will Robson-Scott is a documentary filmmaker and photographer. The TOPSAFE alum cut his teeth alongside cult London musicians, observing the working lives of King Krule and Jimothy Lacoste. He has also made two unflinching documentaries about gun violence in South Chicago. He both shoots and directs his second music video, achieving a startling unity of medium and message on Super-16 and DV. The grubby quality of the image has an atmosphere of decay, skipping and glitching as if it is threatening to expire.
Ned Botwood - 12th June 2019