Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan

In Temple's hands it's more than a rock musical; it's a portrait of a flawed, confronting artist and ardent Irish patriot.

Julien Temple gave Shane MacGowan exactly the documentary he deserves - unruly and full of heart.

MacGowan fans will relish the sheer exuberance of a film that barrels along with the same hectic passion as a vintage Pogues number.

Temple has always used archive material playfully; here, it's particularly riotous, like a chaotic patchwork quilt tacked together by one of Shane's drunk aunties.

"Crock of Gold" isn't intended as a lament for an artist derailed by his worst impulses, though. Instead, it's a celebration of what MacGowan accomplished at his peak, as well as an explanation of the experiences that informed his music.

In the end, the film operates best as an act of ancestor-worship to an extraordinary musician whose best days - we are forced to sadly conclude - appear to be behind him.

The film is about MacGowan, man and myth, and while his beautiful music appears throughout, it is very much about the shaping of his life and its playing out.

(Temple) makes sure you see the faces of the crowds, belting out his songs with the passion of a national anthem, clutching banners and flags with tears in their eyes. Regardless of what his path may have done to him, it's hard not to admire that legacy

This cracked, craic-filled, crack-up of a documentary more than lives up to its cheeky subtitle of A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan.

Ireland's self-destructive troubadour remembers what he can of his rock and roll life, while Johnny Depp and Bobby Gillespie fill in the rest.