George Michael: Freedom- Review

Most documentaries tend to just be...well...documentaries. You Know, someone would probably spend hours researching the life of that particular celebrity, collect old footage clips together and then edit this into an hour long film, interspersed with clips of fellow celebrities talking about said celebrity.

Okay...the George Michael documentary was almost like that but there was one important difference. He directed it. He wrote it. It was his own story, in his own words.

It was a very poignant opening, with supermodel Kate Moss reminding us that George Michael passed away on Christmas Day 2016, aged 53. It  became even more emotional, as the hauntingly beautiful cover of Fastlove that Adele performed at The 2017 Grammys became the soundtrack of the opening credits. In fact, the documentary was almost like a bookshelf; you had the first bookend, which was Adele's tribute, the documentary was the books, telling his story, and the final bookend was the equally beautiful tribute from Coldplay's Chris Martin, singing A Different Corner, featuring George Michael via a big screen.

But what about the documentary itself? Well, it was a perfect balance of the good and bad times in Michael's career and the fact that he was brave enough to reveal everything in the documentary was inspiring to me and no doubt, many other people who would have watched it. Issues within his career included his court battle with Sony regarding his recording contract and his substance abuse. However, the good times were, of course, his hits, both from Wham and his solo career; Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, Last Christmas, Everything She Wants, Careless Whisper, Freedom, Outside...the list is endless!

It wasn't only George Michael's words though...it was words from contributors; people who knew him and fans of him. These included; Liam Gallagher, Mark Ronson, Stevie Wonder, Nile Rodgers and Ricky Gervais, as well as, mentioned earlier,  Kate Moss. We also heard from people who worked with him, such as Mary J. Blige and Elton John, who both performed duets with Michael, As and Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me respectively, and James Corden, who some claimed his first Carpool Karaoke featured Michael, during 2011's Comic Relief UK telethon.

Overall, the documentary was stunning from start to finish. It allowed George to reveal exactly what was going on in his life and I feel that is important for everyone to do, as there is so much speculation about celebrities' personal lives that can be skewed by the press. It also allowed us to be reminded of how much of a creative genius that George Michael was. To be honest, I don't think anyone else would make another song like Careless Whisper, for example...

Em x

You can catch up on, or rewatch, the documentary on All 4.