0:00
/
01:55
This electrifying journey through the public and private worlds of pop culture mega-icon Grace Jones contrasts musical sequences with intimate personal footage, all the while brimming with Jones's bold aesthetic. A larger-than-life entertainer, an androgynous glam-pop diva, an unpredictable media presence--Grace Jones is all these things and more. Sophie Fiennes's documentary goes beyond the traditional music biography, offering a portrait as stylish and unconventional as its subject. Taking us home with her to Jamaica, into the studio with long-time collaborators Sly & Robbie, and backstage at gigs around the world, the film reveals Jones as lover, daughter, mother, and businesswoman. But the stage is the fixed point to which the film returns, with eye-popping performances of "Slave to the Rhythm," "Pull Up to the Bumper," "Love is the Drug," and more. Jones herself has said watching the film "will be like seeing me almost naked" and, indeed, Fiennes's treatment is every bit as definition-defying as its subject, untamed by either age or life itself.
Rating
NR
Director
Sophie Fiennes
Studio
Kino Lorber
- As a concert film, this offering works well. But, as a documentary about its subject, it comes up lacking, presenting only smatterings of insight into what makes Grace Jones the person and artist she is. What's more, the film feels padded, including considerable incidental (and largely insignificant) material to fill out its runtime, which is, in itself, overlong and in need of editing. A missed opportunity, to be sure.Reply
-
- Disappointingly shallow. Eleven years of film and we don't reaally have any insight or learn anything new about GJReply