Title – Whitney (2018)

Director – Kevin Macdonald (Touching the Void)

Cast – Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown, Kevin Costner, Cissy Houston, Clive Davis

Plot – Examines the life of famous singer Whitney Houston whose talent and world domination was eventually overshadowed by her downward spiral due to drug abuse.

“When you don’t resolve things, when you don’t deal with things, they never go away”

Review by Eddie on 06/05/2019

Examining the life of a once a in a life-time talent is no easy task, but Kevin Macdonald’s Whitney is the most comprehensive and important look yet at the at times amazing and other times heartbreaking career of Whitney Houston.

Experienced in the documentary game with highlights such as Touching the Void and Marley, Macdonald utilises his experience to craft an easy to understand and well-put together doco that over the course of two hours will take you on a journey from the childhood years of Houston’s life, through to her depressing last days, that saw the once bright talent peter out into a shell of her former self.

Given unprecedented access to previously unseen home video footage, as well as access to a large collection of Houston’s family members and associates, Whitney does feel like the warts and all examination that was needed for this tragic tale, as we are made aware of previously unknown aspects of the late singers life thanks to Macdonald’s targeted approach to unearth the real story behind the sad and early demise of the singer at the age of 48.

Combining these aspects with a series of throwback videos, film clips, interviews and pop-culture snippets of the time when Houston ruled the world, as one of the highest selling artists of all-time, Whitney quickly becomes an engrossing investigation and look at a figure we’re unlikely to ever see again.

Much like other recently passed celebrities such as Michael Jackson, David Bowie or Robin Williams, Houston was the type of talent that is unlikely to ever be replicated again. Macdonald’s documentary acts as both a testament to this talent and a sad expose of what happens when someone makes unfortunate life choices, with Macdonald not shying away from the fact that despite all her good natures and intentions, Houston refused to help herself when she needed to the most.

Final Say –

A quintessential piece of the puzzle for any die-hard Houston fans and an insightful and engaging feature for film lovers, Whitney is another win for Macdonald and one of 2018’s best documentary’s.

4 angry concert goers out of 5