Pete Doherty: Stranger in My Own Skin | What timeframe does the documentary cover and where can I watch it?

The life and times of one Pete Doherty has been countlessly covered during his ‘heyday’ - from dating Kate Moss to his legal troubles with The Libertines bandmate Carl Barât over equipment and everything in between (including his alleged involvement in a death.) But ‘Pete Doherty: Stranger in My Own Skin’ addresses ten years of the troubador from the perspective of the man himself. 

The film, directed by Doherty’s current wife Katia deVidas, follows the singer and his addiction to hard drugs during the height of his fame, and the “descent into hell just as his popularity was peaking.” The documentary avows to have raw and intimate material from the singer, narrated through his own words and emotions, as audiences “experience Doherty’s courageous, and often poetic fight to overcome his demons.”

Doherty for a long period of time became tabloid fodder, starting with his romance with supermodel Kate Moss, but then delving into his troublesome moments and continued legal issues. Many might recall scores of fans waiting for him to come out of London courtrooms and being met with the same adulation once would expect seeing a rock star emerge from the back of a venue after a show. Some considered what they did as supportive, while others considered their presence enabling his behaviour.

But at his lowest, Doherty was embroiled in a very serious addiction to heroin and several attempts to clean himself up by checking into rehab. His fights with Johnny Borrell of Razorlight, who took over from Doherty during his first absence from The Libertines, became the stuff of legend across magazines such as the NME, while his involvement in the 2006 death of Mark Blanco became the basis for another Doherty-centric documentary earlier this year - the Channel 4 film, ‘Pete Doherty: Who Killed My Son.”

But these days, Doherty seems healthy and in a much better place; be it working with Katia with his latest musical project, Peter Doherty and the Puta Madres or continuing his other artistic pursuits, Doherty revealed to the NME in 2022 that he has been clean and sober since December 2019. 

What time frame does ‘Pete Doherty: Stranger in My Own Skin’ cover?

Given the film follows his rise to fame and the drug addiction that followed, we would imagine that the film follows the period of time between 2002 to 2012. It was in this period that The Libertines were considered part of the “post-punk revival” movement with The Strokes and Bloc Party, earning regular radio rotation and hallowed appearances on Jools Holland - including a rousing version of “Boys In The Band.”

It was shortly after the success of the group's debut album, ‘Up The Bracket,’ when the trouble started to emerge with Doherty. He was ejected from the band in 2003 after the relationship between himself and other band members, especially his friend Carl Barât, plunged to an all-time low, with Doherty concentrating instead on his Babyshambles project, before returning to The Libertines for their second album, ‘The Libertines’ in 2004. 

That album detailed the breakdown of the ailing frontmen's once seemingly cast-iron friendship while illustrating the love-hate relationship between Doherty and Barât. That reconciliation ended a year later, and it wouldn’t be until 2010 that The Libertines would start playing again - the majority of the group formed Dirty Pretty Things in his absence. 

Despite no longer being a member of one of indie music’s hottest acts, the press interest was well underway for Doherty at this point.

Where can I watch ‘Pete Doherty: Stranger in My Own Skin’?

‘Pete Doherty: Strange in My Own Skin’ is screening now in cinemas nationwide.