Whitney: Can I Be Me, 2017.
Directed by Nick Broomfield and Rudy Dolezal.
Featuring Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown and Robyn Crawford, David Roberts and Cissy Houston.
SYNOPSIS:
A documentary tracing the life of Whitney Houston, one of the most successful singers of the late 20th century. Catapulted into stardom in her early 20s, her career skyrocketed, with a debut album that sold in its millions. But her personal life became increasingly turbulent and an addiction to drugs precipitated her death in mid-forties.
It’s just over five years since Whitney Houston died. We’re regularly reminded of the date on-screen in Nick Broomfield’s latest documentary, Whitney: Can I Be Me. 11th February 2012, location the Beverly Hilton, and the film starts with the telephone call to the emergency services. No name mentioned, just a woman in her forties found in the bath and not breathing.
From there, Broomfield goes back to the singer’s last successful world tour, in 1999, which is flagged up as something of a turning point. It’s also the focus for a tragic, sometimes distressing, portrait of the price of fame. And of how being talented can often be more of a curse than a gift.
Broomfield makes substantial use of documentary footage from the 1999 tour, returning to it like a magnet as it exemplifies so much of Houston’s life. On the plus side there’s the adulation of her many fans, but it’s outweighed by the negatives: constant conflict between husband Brown and her close friend and confidante, Robyn Crawford, and the sheer exhaustion of performing. There’s a scene at the end of one concert where she comes off stage, tearful and covered in sweat and slumps in front of her dressing table with her head in hands. It’s more than physical exhaustion. It’s despair and isolation, despite the assistant draping towels around her shoulders.
Crawford was one of the most influential people in Houston’s life, her closest friend since they were children, but we never actually hear her voice. She’s not interviewed for the film, nor do we hear her speak on the archive footage, but there’s little doubt of the bond between her and the singer, one that fuelled rumours of a gay relationship. The other big influence, of course, was husband Bobby Brown and we’re left in no doubt that he and Crawford continually fought for Whitney’s attention and approval. In the end, Crawford was sacked after that 1999 world tour. The Houston/Brown marriage ended in 2007.
One major highlight of Houston’s career was the film, The Bodyguard, which demonstrated her ability as an actress and also produced the song that would always be associated with her. Released in 1992, it made a staggering $411 million worldwide, aside from the success of the single and the soundtrack album. Former bodyguard, David Roberts, admits that the story bears little resemblance to his time working for her, but also reveals that his job entailed more than just following her around and protecting her from fans. After the 1999 tour, he wrote a lengthy report to her management about the drug taking he observed, its effect on Houston and her daughter, and recommended strongly that she was received help. He was sacked.
The underlying inference from this, and other incidents described in the film, is sinister. Later scenes are more explicit, with one of its many captions stating that virtually all of her fortune went towards supporting her family, friends and those that worked for her. Everybody depended on her, but it seemed there was nobody she could depend on.
As a portrait of a genuine super star, it’s a deeply sad film, although it has enough respect for its subject to show hardly any shots of the singer in her last days. All we see is some home movie footage of her with her family and, despite the party atmosphere, she does not look well. If Nick Broomfield’s depiction of the life of Whitney Houston tells us anything, it’s that talent and fame can make a deadly sharp, double-edged sword.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Freda Cooper – Follow me on Twitter, check out my movie blog and listen to my podcast, Talking Pictures.
Originally published June 15, 2017. Updated April 15, 2018.
