Marianne Faithfull’s Final Word: LSD with Mick Jagger, a Venice Premiere, and a Last Song in Broken English
I am Jaden Patel, and today Marianne Faithfull recounts taking LSD with Mick Jagger in a new documentary that premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Another quiet day in 1960s rock history, if your definition of quiet includes acid, a police raid, and a fur rug that now belongs in a museum.
The film is “Broken English,” named for Faithfull’s 1979 comeback album, and it landed its first screening at Venice, all carefully assembled before the singer’s death at age 78 in January, according to her spokesperson. Directed by Jane Pollard and Iain Forsyth, the documentary borrows the structure of the classic program This Is Your Life, with Tilda Swinton guiding the procession and actor George MacKay sitting down with Faithfull to unpack the chaos, the beauty, and the headlines she never outran. Because when you rewrite rock history, history tends to underline you in red ink.
In one standout moment, MacKay shows Faithfull an old interview in which she mused about anarchy. She cuts through the nostalgia with a blade of candor. “The night before I did this interview, Mick and I had taken LSD, and maybe that affected me,” she tells him. No need to call the vibe police, they already showed up in 1967 at Keith Richards’ place. That raid is infamous, and The Guardian has chronicled it for decades: officers reported finding Faithfull naked and wrapped in a fur rug alongside Richards, Jagger, and others, a tableau that practically storyboarded itself for future myths. In the film, Faithfull shrugs at the shock of it all. She says it never occurred to her that the authorities would kick in the door, and notes that Jagger worried while she embraced the rebel label.
The documentary covers the milestones that became headlines. She married artist John Dunbar in 1965, had a son, then left to be with Jagger. Their four-year romance powered songs, tabloids, and enough innuendo to fill an arena. Faithfull herself had no illusions about how the music machine worked. The Guardian has reported her line that she once told Jagger “Wild horses could not drag me away,” a phrase that echoes in the Rolling Stones classic. She also understood that her struggles fueled darker material, citing how her drug battles fed “Dear Doctor” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” In her words, she knew she was a muse for the tough songs, and she thought the cause was worthy.
“Broken English” does not treat its subject like a relic, it listens to a working artist who kept creating. The film places her voice front and center, then steps aside for a final coda. Tilda Swinton addresses the audience directly, acknowledging that Faithfull died before the filmmakers could finish. Before she left, however, she recorded one last performance, a tender version of her 2018 song “Misunderstanding,” with Nick Cave on piano and backing vocals. It plays like a farewell note you were not ready to read. Faithfull sings about love being real, love lasting longer, and somehow the lyric feels like a ledger that finally balanced.
In January, the family’s spokesperson announced that Faithfull died peacefully in London surrounded by loved ones. Soon after, Jagger posted a tribute on Instagram, calling her a wonderful friend, a beautiful singer, and a great actress. For those checking the receipts, the Venice premiere and the Redlands raid sit in the public record, while Jagger’s remembrance is both public and personal. The facts are there, the feelings are newer than ever.
If you are expecting the film to flinch from the mess, it does not. It includes the addiction that cost her nearly everything in the early 1970s, the homelessness in Soho, and the long road back to the studio and stage. Faithfull may have worried that she once talked too openly, too much, and drew the wrath of the establishment. The result is that her voice now carries further, in her own terms, with her own edges intact.
So what do we have here? A career-spanning confession delivered with a cool gaze, a definitive cameo from Tilda Swinton, and a closing song that turns the credits into a vigil. Keep an eye on distribution news and potential awards chatter. Because if rock history has taught us anything, it is that the final word never really is final, it just cues the next track. Until then, consider this the rare documentary that leaves its subject exactly as she wanted to be seen, no filter needed and no rug required. And yes, the tea is scalding, but it is also sourced.
That is the show. Try not to get arrested on your way out.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and New York Post, The Guardian, Instagram, Venice Film Festival
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