Ailey, 2021.
Directed by Jamila Wignot.
SYNOPSIS:
A feature-length portrait of the life and work of dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey.
“Sometimes your name becomes bigger than yourself.” A single line from Ailey sums up the enigmatic figure at the center of this new documentary. That’s not to say the iconic dancer and choreographer wasn’t essential or bombastic himself, but there’s a sense that his name got more significant than the man carrying it.
The weight of being such a force in his industry kept Ailey from true happiness for many years. That realization does not take away from the joy and the fire that came from Alvin Ailey’s life, and Jamila Wignot’s documentary does a fantastic job of balancing its tone.
With such a tortured soul, you can easily see this going down a melodramatic route, where the whole vibe is, “look how sad this person was, isn’t that just sad.” No, Ailey took a more reflective path and decided to celebrate a bright life rather than wallow in any dark moments.
A celebration of life through passion and dance is precisely how the influential artist would’ve wanted this to go, and it’s lovely that the director and the guests featured here went down that path. Even when discussing genuine challenging moments, you get the sense that they are using those talks to paint many colors in Ailey’s life.
And what a wonderfully colorful and vibrant life that Alvin Ailey created.
Framing itself around an anniversary show for Ailey’s legendary dance company, we get a unique wrap-around story that seamlessly helps this entire piece flow. We cut back-and-forth between choreographer Rennie Harris preparing an upcoming show, with his rehearsal sessions coinciding with stories of Alvin’s life.
Told through a mix of guest interviews and vintage audio and video clips from Alvin, we see the journey of this dance auteur humbling beginnings in Great Depression-era Texas to becoming the most recognizable name in contemporary dance.
Weaved together so delicately, Ailey‘s direction and editing are as striking as a dance featured. I sat there stunned when they would use speed-up scenes of 80s’ New York to capture a manic episode, or how it chose to juxtapose a particular story from Alvin’s past with one of his creations. Little touches like that make this feel like it’s something more than a reflective documentary and attempts to stand-out as its own piece of art.
I’ve noted this before in other reviews, and it pops up again in Ailey, but there’s a lot of conversations on mental health this Sundance. And I couldn’t be happier about that, mostly when they’re framed around young men’s mental health. I feel that men often get pushed to the side when dealing with mental health, either by societal means or by their demons. That’s a bit present here as we see what the fame and hardships of life did to Alvin’s mind. Like I mentioned earlier, there’s never a “woe is me”-type moment here because this is a beautiful lesson that you can succeed even in a dark place.
Taking the pain from life, Alvin Ailey put it in his work. Sometimes he would dive into work as a way to push away feelings, like with Memoria. But it also seemed like he’d use dance to explore his emotions, like with the iconic Revelations piece or the work after his stay at a mental health facility. Wignot sold that through her direction exceptionally well, letting us into these personal thoughts in a way that doesn’t feel intrusive.
I also applaud the filmmakers behind this for handling the subject matter of Ailey’s sexuality with such delicate care. He obviously struggled with something, and much like his other sorrows, this didn’t talk down at its viewers or feel prying. If only every artist could get the treatment that Wignot and her team gave this legend, it’s genuinely a delight to see someone captured so elegantly.
Ailey transforms from a biographical documentary to a stunning work of art. It’s edited with such beauty, there are lovely people telling beauty stories, and you walk away uplifted and elevated.
Director Jamila Wignot also could’ve “cheated” and just shown Alvin’s full performances and still walked away with a great film. It’s a real blessing we have so much footage of his iconic creations still, and this documentary makes sure to remind us of that fact.
Each form of art only gets a finite amount of geniuses in their time. There are only so many great filmmakers, only so many great painters, and only a few great dancers. Alvin Ailey wasn’t one of those great ones; he was the best one.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
EJ Moreno
