Two music docs and a documentary-like look at an aging Vegas performer put showbiz in the festival spotlight
I can’t remember a TIFF with so many documentaries about famous musicians.
With the starry subjects — whose careers span decades — attending their films’ premieres and red carpets (minus the late, great Gord Downie, of course), these rock docs have proven a savvy way to generate crossover buzz.
I caught the premieres of the first two films and wasn’t disappointed. There were jolts of excitement in Roy Thomson Hall when Elton John and, a day or so later, Andrea Bocelli, appeared and answered a few softball post-screening questions for adoring fans. I even got to interview Bocelli in a piece for the Toronto Star (see below).
The films themselves are, well, fine; in both cases they provide some rare archival footage, lots of access and intimate glimpses of the artists out of the spotlight. But they do need to be taken with a critical grain of salt. John’s husband, Toronto-born David Furnish, is the co-director and co-producer of their film, while both Bocelli and his wife/manager, Veronica Bocelli, are executive producers of theirs. In other words, don’t expect Gimme Shelter.
One of the more revealing moments in Elton John: Never Too Late (Rating: ✭✭✭) comes in the first third, when we see John and Furnish host a segment of their podcast Rocket Hour, in which John conducts Zoom interviews with up-and-coming and established artists. It’s here that the filmmakers show him wanting to give back and — especially for younger queer artists, like Allison Ponthier — providing the kind of support, example and encouragement he obviously didn’t have when he was their age himself.
The doc focuses on the hugely prolific period in John’s early career from 1970 to 1975, when he produced a whopping 13 albums, cementing his superstar status. This astonishing period began with his infamous performance at the Troubadour (where he entered a complete unknown) and then culminated in his historic 1975 concert at Dodger Stadium. The filmmakers follow John on his farewell tour in 2022, reminiscing about his experiences in various cities and arenas and counting down the days to the tour’s finale, in a full circle moment, at Dodger Stadium.
That historic concert was captured in the Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium, which is currently streaming on Disney+. That’s also where this doc will end up later this fall — which explains why various expletives have been bleeped out of the film.
The filmmakers are helped a lot by audio excerpts from the hours of interviews that went into making John’s 2019 autobiography, Me. Less helpful are animation segments used periodically to illustrate key moments in his life.
Strangely, there’s no mention of John’s bizarre marriage to German sound engineer Renate Blauel, though perhaps that’s because of her lawsuit about the singer discussing their marriage publicly in his memoir and the (excellent) biopic Rocketman.
Still, there are fascinating bits, such as the extended sequence recounting the brief friendship between John and John Lennon. The friendship included lots of drug-taking, including one coke-fuelled bender that included avoiding the prying eyes of Andy Warhol. The friendship also resulted in a hit single (“Whatever Gets You Through the Night”), which they sang together live at Madison Square Garden in 1974. This, incidentally, may have been the event that got Lennon and Yoko Ono to reunite; the two had split, and Ono had reached out to John to get a ticket. It was the last live concert appearance Lennon ever gave.
Throughout, John stresses the importance of being honest — about his drug-taking, his sexuality, his self-destructive early relationship with manager/lover John Reid. In the video interviews at that time, it’s obvious how unhappy he was. It’s a revelation to listen to the original audio recording of his groundbreaking interview with Rolling Stone in which he told the interviewer to keep the tape going while he discussed his bisexuality.
Granted, once he finds sobriety, love and the support of a nurturing family (his affection for his sons is heartwarming), the film loses a bit of tension. But there’s a lot here for rabid John stans and casual listeners. Musicians in particular will appreciate his insights into writing music to already-written lyrics, and the filmmakers do a credible job with seeing the connections between his creative output and his life. Also, it’s pretty astonishing that John had to fight to keep in his song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” from The Lion King, a song that would go on to win an Oscar.
There are only so many ways to capture an icon on film. In Elton John’s case, there are now two. In 2019’s Rocketman, the superstar’s life was depicted via musical biopic, with Taron Egerton as the flamboyant performer. Now, there is Elton John: Never Too Late, a documentary film that tells the story of the pop star while following him on his five-year farewell tour. It’s a mostly by-the-numbers documentary that shines when it lets its subject be vulnerable about his past and rise to fame.
R.J. Cutler’s documentary, based largely on audiotapes made for John’s memoir, starts in the middle of the pop icon’s rise to fame in the States in 1975. His performance to a crowd of at least 110,000 fans at the Dodger Stadium is marked as John’s star-making performance. Among the playful, kinetic use of archival footage from this period, we hear from John himself, who sheds light on the deep anguish he was going through during this period of apparent success. “My soul had gone dark. I wanted to be the person I was before all that,” he explains in voiceover. From here on out, Elton John: Never Too Late, will bounce back and forth from John’s past to chronicling his final tour, sharing the singer’s often tumultuous journey to stardom. From making it out of an abusive household to overcoming drug and alcohol addictions, Elton John: Never Too Late refuses to shy away from the singer’s struggles, which makes for an engaging and honest watch.
In animated segments, archival footage, and photographs, and through John’s own words from his memoir interviews, a portrait emerges of the artist. We first meet him as a small, lonely boy in England raised by parents who were often cruel. “My whole childhood was full of fear,” John explains over heartbreaking photos of his childhood self. Indeed, the documentary is full of vulnerable moments from the singer, most of them rendered in animated segments: John’s first time using cocaine, a wild night spent with friend and Beatle John Lennon, and the heartbreak of his first love with Joe Reid. It’s a nice way the film breaks up the otherwise average documentary format, allowing us a closer look at the star beyond the glossy archival photos and performance videos that make up the majority of the film.
The revelations from John’s past are insightful, giving the breaks to his present-day life a weight that might not otherwise be as underscored. For instance, a FaceTime call with John’s sons feels even more tender and true when you know about the difficult and often abusive childhood John had. His gentle nature and loving approach to his children over this one call is touching, a small moment that speaks volumes and shows the audience what kind of a person John has become despite the difficulties of his upbringing. The flashbacks in the film also provide insight into how John has grown as an artist because of everything he has already gone through. Watching John and his husband David Furnish record interviews with young artists like The Linda Lindas for John’s Apple Music show, Rocket Hour, is endearing. “Why do it? Because who would?” John explains after one recording session. He’s an artist who has not forgotten how tough it can be to come up in the music industry. This documentary understands the impact of the past on the present, and how it can change an artist in a multitude of ways.
The tone of the documentary feels akin to a farewell tour itself. With a comprehensive look at the career of John that creates a throughline between the star’s first show at Dodger Stadium and his final U.S. show at the same venue, it creates a satisfying arc, even though the documentary doesn’t do anything revolutionary with its format or narrative construction. It’s a simple, well-made documentary that feels like an accompaniment to John’s final stretch of shows that went on for 330 concerts from 2018 to 2023. It’s at times emotional, quotidian, and genuinely cool to see an artist like John power through the entirety of his final tour.
Elton John: Never Too Late is a vulnerable, welcome look at and farewell to an unmatched voice in pop music. From its openness about John’s struggles in childhood and adulthood to its chronicling of his massive farewell tour, the film feels like a fitting goodbye to a one-of-a-kind artist who prides himself on giving back and moving forward, no matter what obstacles have tried to hold him back.
Grade: B
This review is from the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival where Elton John: Never Too Late had its world premiere. The film will receive a limited theatrical release on November 15, 2024 before hitting Disney+ on December 13.
