Well, it doesn't end with a rooftop concert played for a puzzled and scant audience of bystanders. But for comparisons to other rock movies, this one about the making of the April, 2002 release "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" has more in common with the sad documentary of the Beatles dissolution "Let it Be" than "A Hard Day's Night."

The mix down process of the album is where artistic differences reach a head with a spat over "Heavy metal drummer." Jay Bennett plays Paul to Jeff Tweedy's John; (or in a cartoon world, Jay plays Sylvester to Jeff's Tweety --sorry, I couldn't resist), and the entire scene ending with Jay's firing, brings to light the same kind of inevitable band politics that brought about the end of The Beatles.

A Spinal Tap moment follows in an interview with Jay, who, in the aftermath of his leave-taking, explains (rationalizes?) that his contribution to Wilco's music was a threat. Conversation about personnel problems in the band had come up many times, says Jay, and "To quote myself, my days in Wilco were numbered."

In all fairness, Jay's contributions during the honeymoon period of the recording were no mean feat. In the band's creative womb of a Chicago loft, Jay and the rest are pratically burning with a fever of creative ideas for music concrete as they fashioned instruments out of rubber tubing and wurlitzers or something.

It's at this point in the film where it seems that "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"could be, if I dare, Wilco's "Sergeant Pepper's..." Tweedy's reserve in discussing the album is a tip-off. Judging from his shy response to probes about whether the album will sound more like "Summerteeth" or "AM," you'd think he had been asked to describe in public, details of a love affair. After the album's chilly reception by Warner, the band's label, Tweedy's reaction to this rejection is painful to watch.

Equally painful is the footage of Tweedy puking into the studio's toilet, and we learn he has always suffered from migraines. Suddenly Tweedy has more gravitas as an artist than at the film's opening when he sticks bubble gum in his bellybutton. No doubt about it, stakes get higher in this movie, which among other things, seems to carry a message about the costs of creative integrity.