This has been a hard week for women in the entertainment field. On July 23rd, it was the seven-year anniversary of Amy Winehouse passing. The days after that, Demi Lovato was rushed to the hospital from a suspected overdose. Between the field of psychiatric care that I work in and my personal experience with addiction, it was an overwhelming week. The thing that put me over the edge was this documentary Whitney, which chronicled the life of Whitney Houston.
Whitney shows Houston's upbringing as unproblematic. Between her mother Cissy, who was a backup singer for musical legends such as Elvis and Aretha Franklin, and her cousins Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick, it was almost predetermined that Houston was going to be a huge singer. Yet the world nor Whitney was prepared for the type of rush that would bring her to superstardom. The film is smart in how it depicts Houston through interviews with her family, friends, and whatever the hell Bobby Brown is.
The documentary does a brilliant job of telling the story in a way most documentaries wouldn't dare to do: in a non-linear fashion. Documentaries are supposed to present facts in a way where you are persuaded to understand the filmmaker's point of view. What Whitney will do is present the facts, but then backtrack and change the facts as the story will go along. To most amateur film viewers, this might seems confusing. But this is a flawless dive into the real psyche of Houston, with all of her virtues and vices. Kevin MacDonald does this in a way that makes the viewer empathize with Houston as she struggles to make it in the world, even with the world at her feet. I have seen over 1,500 movies in my life and only cried in 29. Well, this film made an even 30. It is a beautiful film that proved that the world was robbed of a great talent when Houston died tragically at the age of 48. The only flaw is the film's running time, which is a girthy two hours. Whitney is in select theatres, but if you miss it, catch it in any way you can. This is one of my must-see films of the year that few will see, even after I published my previous list earlier in the week.
Grade: (9/10)
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