20 Feet from Stardom (2013)
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20 Feet from Stardom Movie Review
20 Feet from Stardom is a 2013 documentary film directed by Morgan Neville. It’s a moving and solid, but somewhat conventional doc.
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“Backup singers just bring so much more life to the situation.
When a voice opens up, there comes the life.
That’s when it’s a person to person connection“
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The movie shines a spotlight on the hit-making contributions of longtime backup singers like Darlene Love and Merry Clayton. This was actually the first movie to deal with this subject, which is crazy to think about and it just goes to show how underappreciated backup singers really are. I personally have always appreciated powerful backup vocals that made some of the best songs as phenomenal and enduring as they are, so this subject appeals to me.
But sadly the movie itself is far from great. There is only so far that a strong concept and terrific music can take you if you don’t have great filmmaking. Neville is a somewhat overrated filmmaker and his directing here was a bit pedestrian to me. The movie did not deserve its Oscar win, especially not in such a strong year for the medium that was 2013.
20 Feet from Stardom features stellar interviews. Many of these singers are such great people and some of their stories are so moving, making for an emotionally charged tone to the movie that really worked. Darlene Love is the biggest star that appeared here and her moments were the best and most insightful ones.
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So yes, the movie has that heartwarming and sweet tone that made it a crowd-pleaser for sure. I did appreciate the music that was included here naturally as it has numerous great and timeless hits. The film shied away from talking too much about the subject of race and gender, which was very much appreciated as I personally find that subject overdone and tiresome by now. But the overall filmmaking here is standard – the editing is weak, the pacing is not the greatest, the directing is just okay and the movie failed to be as insightful and as engaging as it should have been.
20 Feet from Stardom is about backup singers, which is a great subject for a documentary given how underappreciated these people are. Some of the interviews are quite heartwarming and the film has an emotionally charged tone that really worked. But there is only so far that great music and a fine subject can take you if you don’t have strong filmmaking – the editing, directing, cinematography and structure are all pretty standard here, leading to a very conventional doc.
My Rating – 3.5
This is the sixth and final film in my documentary movie marathon where I covered one film per decade. It has been a pretty good run with the best movies being Grizzly Man and The Thin Blue Line.
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