‘Elton John: Never Too Late’ review: Rocketman takes a familiar turn in his career
Director: RJ Cutler, David Furnish | Playing time: 102 minutes | Year: 2024
Yes, there are never-before-seen concert footage and handwritten notes. Yes, there are exclusive and behind-the-scenes interviews. And yes, a new song has even been written about it. Elton John: It’s never too late Just a little more relevance. But still: RJ Cutler and David Furnish’s high-budget documentary doesn’t have much new to say. All the things were sincere rocket man in 2019 and also has an autobiography on the way. The recordings of the interviews were even used for the voice-over of this documentary. The exaggeration threatens.
The documentary tells little new news, because Elton John has been quite open in the past about his addictions, his drug use and his sexual orientation. That is and remains beautiful. In the documentary we listen to the recording of an interviewer. rolling stone He wants to ask her questions about his sexuality and asks if the recorder should be turned off. Elton allows him to stay. That was liberating, but according to Elton it damaged his career.
We also saw that choice, authenticity over commerce, in , which was significantly less kid-friendly than e.g. Bohemian Rhapsody. Once again, Elton is an open book, at times almost bordering on the voyeuristic. For example, we experienced a pretty catchy voice call with Elton and his kids. Message: Elton still has nothing to hide.
The documentary naturally focuses on the greatest hits, but it also focuses heavily on Elton’s radio show, where he promotes unknown LGBTI artists. His enduring relevance is further emphasized by showing an encounter with Dua Lipa. It’s these diorama pieces that really add something.
The rest is old wine in new bottles, but very well executed with excellent structure and rhythm. At present, Elton is working toward his final performance, at Dodger Stadium; we forget for a moment that he couldn’t resist doing another tour afterwards. Meanwhile, he remembers his life, especially in the 70s. If there are not enough black and white photographs and newspaper clippings, animation techniques in the style of Hanna Barbera are used.
The documentary may still have that, but at times it threatens to become too pompous. It goes on for quite some time about how impressed and tense John Lennon was performing with Elton John. That makes it a more traditional rock documentary and so it’s a relief that the fame is also shared by Elton’s loyal band and, of course, Bernie Taupin, the lyricist.
Taupin’s role can be emphasized again, because we also see that Elton’s nephew believes that Elton writes the lyrics himself. for that nephew Elton John: It’s never too late So there are still many surprises in store. Otherwise, the documentary fishes quite well in the pond rocket man. The question arises: Where does that leave the film about the years 1990-2010? If you think nothing interesting happened there: Elton sang a political Christmas song in 2005 in which he looked forward to the death of Margaret Thatcher. Maybe you should buy the biography of that story.
Elton John: It’s never too late can be seen in Disney+.