Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Martin Bashir conducts a rare interview with Michael Jackson and is given unprecedented access to the reclusive performer's private life over a span of eight months, from May 2002 to January 2003.
This documentary is genuinely singular — unprecedented access to one of the most famous and enigmatic figures in pop culture history, capturing Jackson in candid, often startling moments that no other filmmaker achieved. The Novelty is undeniable: the footage of Jackson dangling his baby, his admission of sharing his bedroom with children, and the surreal shopping sprees created a cultural firestorm unlike any other celebrity documentary of its era. However, Bashir's interviewing style is manipulative and the editing is editorially slanted, undermining journalistic integrity. The cinematography is functional TV-documentary style with no particular visual artistry. The ending feels abrupt and the controversy it generated overshadowed any narrative resolution. Acting is irrelevant in the traditional sense but Jackson's performance of himself — alternately vulnerable and evasive — is compelling if unsettling.