‘Elton John: Never Too Late’: Toronto Review

Dirs: R.J. Cutler and David Furnish. US. 2024. 102mins

Threadbare tour-bio documentary Elton John: By no means Too Late combines the audio from a 2019 interview with the ’Crocodile Rock’ singer and photographs from his closing North American reveals in 2022. Administrators R.J. Cultler and David Furnish (the singer’s husband) use classic footage and animation to leap between the Seventies and his current tour, with Dodger Stadium because the throughline. There in 1975, John, wearing an iconic sequined Dodger baseball uniform, turned the primary solo rock act to promote out a stadium and, in 2022, it was the placement of his closing live performance in America. But neither story feels recent. In actual fact, they’re each so skinny it’s tough to even name this a puff piece. 

 The one factor holding Elton John: By no means Too Late collectively is the songs

A Disney documentary, Elton John: By no means Too Late premieres as a Gala Presentation at Toronto after which heads to London earlier than embarking on a restricted US theatrical run in November and bowing on Disney+ within the US on December 13. It’s a problem to know who will discover this movie of spare components interesting. Certainly, diehard followers of the singer know the minutest components of his biography already – not least because of the far-more-candid 1997 documentary Tantrums & Tiaras, additionally directed by Furnish – and casuals are prone to desire the crowd-pleasing model of his life seen within the musical biopic Rocketman. In the end, it will possible mix in with different rote ‘print the legend’ movies. 

It’s clear early on that this movie is poorly conceived. It deploys the widespread up to date documentary framework of constructing a narrative round audio tapes – on this case with John, performed by journalist Alexis Petridis for the singer’s 2019 memoir Me. In contrast to different situations the place this has occurred (in movies about Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick and Princess Diana, for instance), this topic is alive and nicely. Within the palms of Cutler and Furnish, the audio that powered John’s frank autobiography is re-tooled unimaginatively to recount the fundamental beats of John’s life: his abusive household; his musical coaching and influences (Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Winifred Atwell); and his time taking part in backup for main African American act just like the Temptations, the Drifters and Patti La Belle. 

That backgrounding carries viewers to the Seventies, when John and his songwriter accomplice, lyricist Bernie Taupin, went on a prolific five-year run that witnessed the singer produce 20-plus albums and numerous hits, and headline Dodger stadium. It additionally included John confining himself in an abusive relationship along with his supervisor and accomplice John Reed, and creating a raging coke behavior to self-medicate his despair and loneliness. As soon as once more, none of that is significantly new info. Slightly, the pleasure derived from these scenes will principally quantity to classic pictures, footage of his star-making present at LA’s Troubadour in 1970, video of ’Yellow Brick Street’s recording session, and a touching story about how his duet with John Lennon at Madison Sq. Backyard — a present that might be Lennon’s closing dwell efficiency — led to the Beatles singer reuniting with Yoko Ono. 

Listening to the identical tales once more can be alright if Cutler and Furnish didn’t pressure feed an undercooked up to date storyline into the edit. The current-day sequences, which weave out and in of the walks down reminiscence lane, are frustratingly empty. We start 9 months out from John’s 2022 Dodger Stadium gig, and verify in with him at every main cease. Versus the frank biographical info, these behind-the-scenes moments – John video chatting along with his youngsters, recording his podcast ’Rocket Hour’ and thanking his longtime band for his or her great taking part in — are overly managed. You recognize you’re solely seeing one of the best of the singer. 

When intertwined, the 2 timelines battle to cohere to a satisfying finish. Your entire closing gig at Dodger Stadium is anti-climatic, totaling three partially carried out songs: ’Somebody Saved My Life Tonight’, ’I’m Nonetheless Standing’, and ‘Your Music’. Whereas it is sensible to spend a lot of the movie abbreviating the jukebox hits for the advantage of time, it’s odd to not let followers luxuriate in these comforting earworms by taking part in them of their entirety. As a result of ultimately, aside from a number of quippy anecdotes, the one factor holding Elton John: By no means Too Late collectively is the songs.