This mysterious documentary concentrates on the formative period in the late Grammy Award winner's life and career. It leads up to the making of his acclaimed, best-selling album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, and the infamous High Court battle with his record label that followed. It also becomes poignantly personal about the death of Michael's first love, Anselmo Feleppa.
Narrated by Michael, Freedom features his unseen archival and private footage. It reveals how he strove to become one of the most influential recording artists of all time, fighting for all artists by challenging the standard recording contract and thus helping to rewrite the rules of the music industry. Why did he then step out of the limelight and turn his back on celebrity?
The Documentary Edge International Film Festival is coming to Wellington (9 May - 20 May) and Auckland (23 May - 4 June) and in amongst the political, human rights, environmental, arts, economic, and technological documentaries are several music-based pieces. One such documentary came in the form of George Michael: Freedom; The Directors Cut.
Now, as George Michael is one of my #2 vocalist of all time (#1 goes to Queen's Freddie Mercury), I decided to watch this documentary ahead of it's screening at the Film Festival and give you all my thoughts on it. The first thing to take note of is who the directors of the documentary are. One is a man known as David Austin, a singer-songwriter that was one of Michael's closest friends, but the other director comes in the form of George Michael himself, a documentary that he finished mere days before he passed away on Christmas Day in 2016. This documentary is therefore considered his final work, and it provides extra gravity to it.
This official documentary covers George Michael's musical career from WHAM!, through his solo career up to his thoughts and opinions so late in his life, and he approaches each topic with an unfiltered honesty about it all. The drawbacks and reasons for keeping his romantic life hidden from his mother, his lawsuit attempting to take down Sony Music Entertainment because their contracts don't allow artists control over when they retire, even his bathroom scandal are all spoken about freely (granted he was pretty open and unashamed at the time anyway).
As George Michael himself directed this documentary, there is more than a few interviews with musicians and other celebrities that have known him, and they tell their own stories of the first time they heard certain songs, and their own George Michael stories. Stevie Wonder, James Corden, Aretha Franklin, Naomi Campbell, Elton John, Cindy Crawford, Liam Gallagher, Mary J. Blige, Ricky Gervais, Tony Bennett, and Jean-Paul Gaultier all have their say. One part that really hit close to home, was watching how Michael's was treated after he won the American Music Awards Soul Album of the Year in 1988 because he was "white". I couldn't help but draw a comparison to how earlier this year, Bruno Mars was accused of cultural appropriation. 30 years apart, and we still haven't changed as a people.
Whether George Michael knew his time was coming up when he made the documentary, his commentary removes any implications of hearsay and gossip. He provides his side of the story, and even when talking about his battle in the courts with Sony, includes interviews with the Sony bosses of the time. There is nothing hidden, he accepts his mistakes, it's the tell-all that explains why he disappeared from mainstream media.
He was always an amazing singer and songwriter, and this documentary shows that underneath it all, he was an amazing person with a kind heart. A must-see.
Originally posted in Issue 53 of the Say What Magazine: http://saywhat.nz