directed by Davis Guggenheim
I was really looking forward to seeing this documentary as I’m a fan of Michael J. Fox and I was simply curious how well (or how badly) they managed to present the amazing person he is. And you know what? As much as I’m tired of all those biography productions, I can definitely say this film is an example how to make them. If you haven’t followed Michael J. Fox much or/and you haven’t seen his performances, don’t you worry. This documentary takes us back to the beginning of his career and explains every step very clearly. He started as a child actor and that was already the time when he knew what his path should be – acting. For those who are familiar with his work it won’t be a surprise to learn that “Back to the Future” directed by Robert Zemeckis was Michael’s milestone and after releasing the first part, he suddenly became incredibly famous. Sounds great, right? A young man who had to work hard to make his dreams come true finally gets appreciated and his career looks promising. Unfortunately, reality can destroy the most beautiful plans. At the age of 29, so at the very peak of his career, the actor gets diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. From that moment, Michael has to struggle with more and more visible symptoms, which is even harder considering he’s constantly being watched. How can you stop a shaking hand when you’re in front of the camera? There’s no switch to turn it off and then, at home, turn it back on again. Even though I’ve watched this documentary and heard him telling about the struggle, I still cannot imagine what a nightmare it was to him hiding his disease. You can see in his eyes how passionate he was and is about his profession, how much he doesn’t want to give up and how much it cost him to continue acting. But you know what? Despite all this, Michael is an absolute optimist. He’s a fighter with a constant smile on his face, even if smiling is now more difficult for him to achieve. The disease has a big influence on all parts of his body, including his face. But when he speaks to the camera, I still see those sparks in his eyes that say more than his disabled body language. Speaking of technicalities – as Michael tells you his story, we can see his younger self in films doing similar things to what he tells us about. The way they managed to choose those scenes and then, edit them in the way that we feel like watching a documentary and not a complication of his performances as an actor – that was brilliant. It was actually very much reminding me of the 80s style of telling stories (in the end that’s when Michael was shining the most on the screen) and, even though it’s a documentary about a seriously ill artist, I felt so peaceful and relaxed. As if he was saying “I’m fine, don’t worry about me, we’re gonna figure it out”. Marvellous production and I hope filmmakers specialising in documentary will follow this example.
My rating: 8/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 