‘George Michael Freedom Uncut’ Review: A distinct lack of the artist’s penchant for danger
George Michael was an enigma: A deeply committed and flamboyant artist, yet one who felt overwhelmed by the challenges of the creative pursuit. His approach to music was incendiary, throwing caution to the wind, by exhibiting a fearlessness that exposed an artist who was determined to sing every note as if it was the last he would record. Tremendous power stems from fearlessness and a desire to cast off the shackles of caution in the hope of coming into something grander and more illustrious.
And yet that’s not what we get from George Michael Freedom Uncut, but rather the film offers a sampling of work that It shows a broader, ostensibly more levelheaded view of the singer’s vast career, by demonstrating the depth and influence he left behind him. Whether the inclusion of Ricky Gervais – who worked with Michael on the pointless reprise of Extras – is going to impress anyone or not, but this documentary is aimed at novices and not the seasoned fans hosting pressings of Faith from 1987 under their long coats.
Things improve in the documentary when it peers into the singer’s personal thoughts, who was brave enough to commit many of his more intimate fears onto the microphone, which gives an insight into the outwardly unflappable artist at a time of great peril and duress. But from this point, the documentary returns to the celebrities who espouse their admiration for Michael in an effort to demonstrate the importance of the singer.
What the series forgets is that Michael doesn’t need an introduction, veering into the usual tropes of being caught in a public place, or demonstrating the fondness he had for the nature of pop. Unlike Peter Jackson’s excellent Get Back series, the film doesn’t offer fans the chance to enjoy the company of their favourite icon, cementing them with a series of pointless detours, directionless interviews and bland, often boringly directed, passages.
And yet it’s nice to see the enthusiasm Michael still instils in people, more than half a decade after his demise. His art was provocative in its outreach, yet commercial in its delivery, and whether it was writing a Christmas tune about the desire to disconnect from the snow that covers Britain (‘Last Christmas’), or using an autotune to record a stirring vocal to New Order‘s ‘True Faith’, Michael always followed the direction of the work, pandering only to the whims of his fans at the most understated point of his career.
Indeed, it’s hard to think of a contemporary in the world of pop, especially since the current trend is to reduce the essence of the genre to its most immediate and childlike. Michael was a daring visionary, a vagrant and a virtuous pop singer, but there’s none of that drama or detail available in this film. But at least the soundtrack is reliably stellar, which would be difficult to say in regards to a documentary about many of his contemporaries.
