Death looms large over Whitney: Can I Be Me, Nick Broomfield’s unauthorised portrait of late pop icon Whitney Houston. Opening in mildly salacious fashion with footage captured on the night of her passing in February 2012, the film seems to threaten a tawdry exhumation of the skeletons that have evidently long rattled around her closet. But while Broomfield gives credibility to long-standing rumours of Houston’s bisexuality, he does so in respectful and empathetic fashion. While it fails to scale the devastating heights of Asif Kapadia’s Amy, Can I Be Me sensitively examines why the star’s story was preordained to end so tragically, and holds to account her inner circle for allowing her to slide so catastrophically into the clutches of addiction. Its greatest asset is a treasure trove of previously unseen material, captured behind the scenes of Houston’s 1999 European tour by German filmmaker Rudi Dolezal. Skilfully interweaving this with more recent talking-head interviews, Broomfield offers a haunting glimpse of a deeply conflicted woman hiding behind a squeaky-clean pop persona.
Whitney: Can I Be Me | Directed by Nick Broomfield, Rudi Dolezal (USA, UK 2017). Starts June 8
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