Michael Jackson – arguably the most famous man in world history and easily the greatest entertainer of all time, died this past summer.
Oh, you’ve heard?
The aftermath and mourning of his passing included this past Tuesday’s release of “This Is It”, a documentary-style film that followed Jackson as he rehearsed in the weeks before what was going to be his curtain call - a string of 50 sold out concerts for over one million people, taking place in London’s O2 Theatre, beginning in July of this year. Much more than way to salvage what was surely going to be a massive profit for Jackson and his camp and what may have been the catalyst that re-launched Jackson’s career, This Is It was released for the fans (as noted in the opening titles) – those that truly miss the King of Pop, what he did for music and what he tried to do for people all over the world.
Filmed in Digital Technicolour, which is easily one of the best ways to see a movie, This Is It offers a backstage look at an icon, his processes, handlers, and some rare candid scenes of Jackson smiling laughing and having fun while he played music – the only thing he’s ever known. This is what is most entertaining about This Is It – a look at the raw Michael Jackson and something void of biased media, gossip and whatever stories and rumours that have followed him for at least the past ten years. He seems happy to be back on stage and comfortable. Even without these scenes though, any fan of Jackson’s music will find this film a joy to watch because of the music itself and a reminder of what it was that made him an unstoppable pop music juggernaut. More than that it is a memorial and a reminder of why we miss him.
Watching him on film, the fact that the man was nearly 50 years old is almost forgotten. Yes, he can still dance, yes he can still sing and points in the film where he seems tired and lethargic can easily be attributed to the fact that this movie was 115 minutes of rehearsal footage, and a far cry from the enormous, exciting and mind-blowing entertainer that Jackson becomes on stage in front of thousands of screaming, crying fans. We forget that MJ is just a man and probably wasn’t always the crotch-grabbing, rhinestone-glove wearing singer that we always knew. We want him to always dance and sing and karate kick the air in front of him. We forget that he is human and at the base point, is just like everyone else. He’s moody, quiet and sometimes he doesn’t shave too. Watching him even at 50, it is quickly understood that this man was born to sing, dance and entertain and even as he aged his talent remained as sharp as it was during his rise in becoming the King over 25 years ago. But still, he is just a man.
This Is It centres on a man with mind-blowing fame and success, yet when he speaks he is polite and timid – almost scared. The struggle comes when deciding whether Jackson really was a truly good and pleasant man, who put all of his energy into spreading love, or a man-child scared of being vilified again by the press, his peers or anyone who ever really knew him. The dichotomy of Jackson on stage and Jackson the person is something really remarkable.
What’s more interesting is that this movie was not intended for release and wasn’t even intended to be a movie at all, it was intended for Jackson only – a video diary for his own personal records. It’s easy to forget this as you wait for a moonwalk across the stage or a slide to the left or right that looks like he is sliding on air. You wait for the big payoff that doesn’t really come, a new dance move or something that pushes the boundaries because as is said in the film – that’s Michael Jackson. Watching the heartfelt confessions of his dancers in the presence of his greatness, the process of the rehearsals themselves and watching his meticulous, precise involvement in his music and its production offers a look at a man who spent his whole life in the spotlight.
It feels good to see him out of it, for once, even if we won’t ever see him again.
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