Director: Kasi Lemmons
Starring: Naomi Ackie, Stanley Tucci, Ashton Sanders, Tamara Tunie, Nafessa Williams, Clarke Peters, Daniel Washington, Bailee Lopes, Bria Danielle Singleton
Distributor: Columbia
Runtime: 144 mins. Reviewed in Jan 2023
Reviewer: Fr Peter Malone msc

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Rating notes: Drug reference and coarse language

The life and career of Whitney Houston, from humble origins to success as a singer and star of The Bodyguard, but also her drug dependence, rocky relationships and decline.

The title is that of one of Whitney Houston’s most popular songs from early in her career. Audiences around the world, especially in the 1990s and early 2000s, responded enthusiastically to Houston’s singing. They appreciated her vocal range, as well as the investiture of her personality in the songs and their lyrics.

In the late 2010s, there were two prominent documentaries about Houston, both by distinguished British directors, Kevin MacDonald and Nick Broomfield. They provided an outline of Houston’s life and career, including achievements, addictions, sexual relationships and orientation, marriage and family. There were strong portrayals of Houston’s life, with a significant range of talking heads elaborating on her life and career.

This film is not a documentary. Rather, it is a biographical portrait with the audience getting the basic information about the stages of Houston’s life – as a young girl singing in the choir led by her mother, her mother’s strong personality and career, her business-focused father and his later defrauding his daughter, her mother training Houston and instilling strict singing discipline.

Enter record producer and entrepreneur, Clive Davis (Tucci). Persuaded to listen to the young Houston, Davis recognises her talent and takes on the promotion of her career.

Kevin Costner wants her for the central role in the movie The Bodyguard just at the time Houston decides she wants to make a film. Dolly Parton’s keynote song, ‘And I Will Always Love You’ is central to the success and iconic nature of the movie.

The film audience then has an opportunity to hear so many of Whitney Houston songs, some at length, with British actress Ackie, impersonating so well Houston’s characteristics, especially on stage. Importantly, the film uses the voice of Houston herself.

As with so many showbiz biopics, there are the high points, and, it seems inevitably, the low points. In the 1980s and 1990s, Houston was introduced to drugs, mostly managing to conceal her use of them, but eventually growing more dependent on them – and, at the age of 48, drowning after an overdose.

The film is strong on Houston’s relationship with her dynamic mother (a strong performance by Tunie), loving her father but eventually confronting him after his mismanagement of her money.

Then, more frankly these days, the issues of her relationships, her love for Robyn Crawford, supporting her despite criticisms from family and friends and innuendo from the media. There is also the issue of singer Bobby Brown and their mutual attraction, despite his womanising and brashness.

For audiences who remember Houston, for those who are still devoted to her music, this is a film they will want to see. For those not less familiar, this opens up her life and career, but may not be of interest to audiences with different musical tastes.

Columbia