film

Another musical treat from Verdi Club here as the Scottish director Kevin Macdonald's 20118 documentary about the brilliant, tragic Whitney Houston gets a welcome airing. Drawing on a huge number of intimate interviews with her family, friends, and collaborators and an equally impressive treasure trove of never-before-seen footage, Whitney captures the euphoria of a generational musical talent in full flow while never shying away from the demons that haunted Houston, and ultimately led to her demise at just 48.

Macdonald, whose directorial CV also includes Touching The Void, Marley and The Last King of Scotland, wasn't previously a fan of Houston's music, and was swayed to take on the project only by her longtime agent Nicole David saying: “I don’t understand why she ended the way she ended. I want you to make a documentary to help me find out.” The investigative spirit sparked by this drives a well-executed, emotional piece of work.