Elton John: Never Too Late, 2024.
Directed by R.J. Cutler and David Furnish
Featuring Elton John, Bernie Taupin, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, John Reid, and David Furnish
SYNOPSIS:
Elton John looks back on his life and the early days of his 50-year career. As he prepares for his final concert in North America at Dodger Stadium, Elton recounts his struggles and shares how he overcame them to become the icon he is today.
Pitching this documentary as the story you don’t know might be a bit of a stretch, it’s more of a retrospective and relatively straightforward look at an incredible career told through the star-shaped lenses of a man nearing the end of his yellow brick road. There are no tantrums and tiaras here, just a wistful and honest look back at the landmark moments, personally and professionally, that have led to Elton John coming full circle to perform at Dodgers Stadium, an arena synonymous with the man following his iconic 1975 show.
The structure of the doc is a standard timeline, one which jumps between his 2022 tour dates, and events reaching back into the piano playing days of a young Reg Dwight. Using archive footage, animation, and intimate behind-the-scenes photographs, we chronicle the abusive relationships he had with his parents, manager, lovers, and drugs. All of these are well-documented, especially if you’ve seen Dexter Fletcher’s terrific Rocketman, yet this time they are all laid over the foundations of a recorded interview between Elton and the rock and pop critic Alexis Petridis.
The star comes across as the antithesis of the heightened caricature of previous documentaries. Possibly because this is co-directed by his husband, but also because age affords him a level of melancholy and distance, stripping away the glitter and feather boas of Elton in his pomp, to simply reveal a man who’s looking forward to spending his remaining years being a father.
Most who spin this doc on their Disney+ player will be familiar with a lot of what the film covers; the fact Elton’s big break came in America, with his popularity boom backed up by four albums in one year, and three seminal nights at The Troubadour in Los Angeles; or his relationship with lyricist Bernie Taupin, without whom Elton John readily admits that he would probably still be Reg Dwight (a name he hated).
The most fascinating aspect of Elton John: Never Too Late is a strand that’s indicative of the film’s mission statement as a whole; one of love and a willingness to represent others as much as the piano man himself. It all manifests during an extended section in which the star looks back on his friendship with John Lennon, and their drug-assisted journey towards sharing the stage for what would be the former-Beatles final ever live-performance at Madison Square Gardens.
For those of us who’ve only ever downloaded the Greatest Hits Album, or whose favourite song is the one from Almost Famous (I’m being pithy), this is a revelatory insight into a piece of musical history, all permeated by the fact that these two megastars were just two men who loved each others company, and that comes across in Elton’s testimony and the archival footage. It’s a shame that the rest of the documentary feels quite tame in comparison.
Elton John: Never Too Late is a polished portrait with impressive access, one that builds towards a rousing concert crescendo, but only fleetingly does it match the bravado and creativity of its legendary subject.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★
Matt Rodgers – Follow me on Twitter
