Michael

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Michael is a biopic about the early career of Michael Jackson up to his final performance with the Jackson 5 on their Victory Tour.

Michael is a film that really comes down to portraying Michael's own insecurities. He was beaten significantly as a child, had an imbalanced relationship with his father and sheltered in childish fantasies. His rise to fame here is depicted as an effort to escape and believe in himself; to essentially break away from the Jackson family mould. Michael is oppressed by the control Joseph Jackson has over his family; there's a sense of fear there that permeates across the film. It's an interesting duel watching the pair try to resist and control the other. 

This is an Antoine Fuqua-directed film, so you know there's going to be a bit of style at play. There's a shot in this film of Jackson standing atop a car outside the CBS studio, which I think immortalises the visual nature of this feature. But if that's not enough, you can see just how much fun Fuqua had stitching the 'Thriller' music video scene together. The editing here is quite slick and sets an even pace to a film that could have otherwise felt slow. The strength of the film should be the music, and it often is. The selection of songs here might be obvious, but they are also clear staples of Michael Jackson's musical genius.

Jaafar Jackson, who played Michael, is a capable lead who has clearly worked hard for the role; his physicality as Michael Jackson showed him to be an incredible study. Nia Long, who played Katherine Jackson, is a quieter mother figure; the way Long built up Katherine's strength and resistance to Joseph across the film, I found admirable. Larenz Tate, who played Berry Gordy, shows a great reaction to Michael's rising star; the way Tate is a positive figure to Michael at an early point in the film is a nice note. Miles Teller, who played John Branca, is a real straight-shooter in this; Teller keeps a level playing field and guides Jackson well across their scenes together. Mike Myers, who played Walter Yetnikoff, has a great standout scene in this film; watching Myers play the part of strongarming MTV is a real blast.

However, the best performance came from Juliano Valdi, who played Young Michael. I don't think there will be a more powerful child performance this year. Which is a crazy thing to feel after I watched the NZ premiere of Hamnet earlier in the year (if you know, you know). Valdi's take on Michael Jackson as a child is electric; this is a young boy who feels the music he is performing to his very core. He moves about a set effortlessly; the dancing here will blow you away. But I loved how gentle and earnest he was. Valdi established that Michael is a bit off-kilter but also sincere. I also think he portrayed the struggle between father and son the best out of all the performers working that storyline. Watching Valdi barely hold himself together after a moment of abuse was like walking on crushed glass. This is a young actor who should go a long way; there's talent here in spades.

The issue with Michael is that it often feels safe, but more than that, it feels like it holds a substantial amount back. Biopic films that focus on musicians have been a constant staple of late, and Michael is one of the more basic ones I've watched. This is a simple rags-to-riches story, with minimal roadblocks and some mild interpersonal struggle scattered in. It's not trying to be inventive like Bohemian Rhapsody or Better Man were. The whole story feels quite condensed or even edited down. Chunks of life story have been ripped clean out, and what's left feels like the Michael Jackson story they're okay with telling us. Michael is a surface-level deep film that struggles to find detail in its narrative. It is also clear that Michael is an unusual protagonist. Yet the things that make him strange feel oddly taboo and like they can only be talked about so much. He hides in childish things, but the film seems afraid of examining the why there too closely. Michael really could have been a strong character study, but in truth, it just wants to celebrate the rise of Michael Jackson's celebrity.

Michael Jackson bought a range of animals in his time, and this film lightly covers this. The result of this is some absolutely uncanny CGI animals completely ruining the flow of this narrative from time to time.

Colman Domingo, who played Joseph Jackson, hits a pretty singular note across this; the mean-spirited, selfish father figure gets quite played out. Laura Harrier, who played Suzanne de Passe, is a figure who is there to be the tantalising door to the music industry; but Harrier isn't really playing much of a character here at all. KeiLyn Durrel Jones, who played Bill Bray, is framed as an odd father figure substitute to Joseph throughout the film; this is a performance that awkwardly observes but rarely feels vital to the scene. Kendrick Sampson, who played Quincy Jones, is entirely irrelevant to the plot of this film; Sampson and Jackson don't even pair nicely together in their scenes. 

There are pieces of a good story here amid the formulaic, bizarre musical biopic. I would give Michael a 6/10.