Review of Whitney (2018) by Craig Dylan W — 24 Jul 2018

While there surely is no need for 2 documentaries about the life and death of Whitney Houston in under 12 months; having seen both, I can say that even though they do cover some common grounds, thankfully they do not feel too repetitive.

The USP of Nick Broomfield's film last year is the backstage footage of one of her tours that was never released and showed a performer at the peak of her career, while questioning why she succumbed to drugs and other personal or family issues with only a hint of an answer.

Less beholden to her music, this new film by Kevin Macdonald asks the same question but we get more of an answer because it has the advantage of exclusive interview footage with Houston's family and close friends which uncovers something new and previously unknown - which makes this the more intriguing and revealing of the two.

To that end, this is a respectful and occasionally insightful look into the fall from grace of a true star whose talents served her extremely well and which brought her fame and fortune, and yet unfortunately is still unable to escape the demons that she is haunted by as a result of her upbringing and the tragedy that she is surrounded by people who do not have her best interests at heart.