What I liked
1. Respectful and transparent capture of teen BIllie
2. Individual participation of important people
3. Captured the essence of her creative process
what I didn't like
1. Less to no conversations about their struggles when they weren't this big
2. No conversations around her improving mental health.
3. No mention of her social justice projects.
The Billie Eilish is not just Billie but also her entire family. Billie is an active volcano with authentic vision, Finneas streamlines her vision with his artistic perfection, and parents are the backbone of the world of Billie Eilish. We fans all know this, but many people see us as a bunch of fake depressed kids who want attention. I'm not sentimental enough to stan celebrities, but Billie's translation of our collective feelings and struggles kept me close to her art.
The documentary has transparently recorded her, her family and us-fans. Truly speaking I wasn't expecting this vulnerability. Sometimes while watching it I felt intrusive, we fans know Billie is very protective about her journal and her bedroom wall. But the doc has captured these crucial stocks of her art. RJ Cutler has done a tremendous job in extracting this essence. There is no other nonsense involved. Its 2 hours and 20 minutes of observing the making of Billie Eilish.
The most beautiful part is that the doc is respectful to her and includes the good and the ugly. The camera is not on her face, but more like a story recorded on family video cameras. The little details like the end scenes have a blue vignette-style frame while her singing ocean eyes, made me cry the 100th time. Her songs are seamlessly adapted according to the mood of the scenes. However, there are very few conversations of the entire family talking about her childhood which is understandable, but I wanted to know how they were when they weren't this famous. Billie has throughout these years improved her mental health, and since she is very passionate about it I wished they talked about it too. It also doesn't talk about the social justice issues they are active about.
I feel those who don't like her art will too enjoy this as a coming of age story of a 5 grammy-winning young artist.
