There is a certain sense of déjà vu in watching Michael Jackson’s swan song on the silver screen given that he lived his entire life in the glare of the media cameras, his every gesture replayed and scrutinized around the world.
For better or for worse, his last bow – truly, This Is It – is receiving the same polished and packaged mass media treatment, even modelling its opening after a typical episode of American Idol: awestruck back-up dancers get teary-eyed fawning over the possibility of working with Jackson and then compete for spots on-stage in his farewell concert series.
But this format soon gives way to a close approximation of Jackson’s planned concert, reconstituted from rehearsals filmed before the singer’s death.
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This is It
Directed by Kenny Ortega. |
The concert series and associated compilation album were to be Jackson’s curtain call, so all the fan favourites are here, from “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” to “Man in the Mirror” and “Smooth Criminal.” (Title track “This Is It,” the only new song, is actually a resurrected demo ballad composed more than a decade ago.)
This Is It shows nothing of Jackson giving his all, so it could hardly be considered a true concert film, much less a definitive one; throughout, he is tragically “saving himself” for the real performances, to the extent that he chides his vocal coach for encouraging him after he finally gets into a song and belts out his part of a duet for a few scant moments. His absolute dedication might have kept Jackson from wanting fans to ever see him rehearse, but what becomes quickly clear is that Jackson at 50 per cent is better than most singers giving it everything they’ve got.
Nonetheless, the fact that we are limited to rehearsals is decidedly bittersweet. Jackson and director-choreographer Kenny Ortega make no secret of the fact that This Is It was to be an entirely new and more theatrical concert experience, featuring an entrance by Jackson in a robot skinned with television screens, multiple 3-D film components including a haunted graveyard for “Thriller,” and aerial acrobatics in the style of Cirque du Soleil, not to mention Jackson’s incomparable dancing.
What This Is It loses for its incompleteness, resorting to rudimentary animatics to illustrate some of the intended stagecraft, it more than makes up for in earnestness and intimacy. Jackson’s desire to entertain was all-encompassing, but it was tempered by a sense of social obligation and universal harmony which gave us such songs as “Black Or White” and the eco-friendly “Earth Song,” both featured heavily in the film.
It also provides a chance for fans to finally gain a certain sense of proximity to their idol which was made impossible during his life by the remoteness necessitated by immense celebrity. There is no tabloid eccentricity or messianic posturing on display here, only a supremely talented artist with an abiding belief in human love and understanding.
Jackson’s death prompted questions both artistic (what to do with the unfinished show, how to respect his legacy) and business-related (how to recoup the costs of the tours, how to capitalize on the work done for his upcoming tour), to say nothing of his estate’s legal quagmire; This is It captures and refracts this interplay (or contradiction) even as it embodies both the heart and soul of Jackson’s creative drive and the money-making strategizing of corporate Hollywood.
If the film itself is an artifact of Jackson’s lifelong exploitation, it at least humanizes the King of Pop as it eulogizes him. This Is It may not be quite the spectacle its star ultimately had in mind, but it offers us a glimpse at his conception, and by commingling his artistry and his humanity it serves as a fitting coda to Jackson’s career.