Director: Amy Berg
Stars: Jeff Buckley, Mary Guibert, Rebecca Moore, Joan Wasser, Ben Harper, Aimee Mann
Synopsis: Never-before-seen footage, exclusive voice messages, and accounts from Jeff Buckley’s inner circle paint a captivating portrait of the gifted musician who died tragically in 1997, having only released one album.
The immortality of musicians gone too soon is a well-worn trope in movie history. It is how we’ve received a combination of authorized and unauthorized stories of woe about Jimi Hendrix, Freddie Mercury, and Amy Winehouse. Because music taste and experiences are so personal and ephemeral, these stories seem to resonate within this industry more than any other. It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley joins the recent splurge in documentaries about iconic ‘90s musicians, with his tragic death leading to one of music’s most tragic “what if” scenarios.
For many, Buckley became the iconic singer of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, which recently crossed a billion streams worldwide. Yet the singer-songwriter’s original songs remain undeniably influential, laying the groundwork for bands like Arcade Fire or the burgeoning Midwest emo scene to find pop success. Wisely, It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley takes a much bolder stance than parading through dozens of artists talking about his greatness. Instead, director Amy Berg places us with the people who loved him the most: his family, his girlfriends, and his band.
Berg, an acclaimed filmmaker and Oscar nominee for Deliver Us From Evil, knows there are pitfalls to musical bio-documentaries like It’s Never Over. The simple rise and fall story does not work in the case of Buckley, who died while writing his second album. Instead, his “fall” is filled with regret by those who knew him best. They wonder how they could have helped and recognize the incredible pressure he was under in life.
Buckley’s mother tells stories about causing Jeff grief, including a time she fought with his critics in a Jeff Buckley chat room. As a young mother, she admits she “grew up” with him, and more often than not, he was the more mature figure in their family. That unhealthy relationship becomes one of the most fascinating subjects for Berg to explore.
When you’re seemingly destined for greatness, these small moments can weigh on you. Buckley was especially unique, and his parentage made the specter of an early death hang over him like a grim reaper. While he seemed to embrace it, those who were around him explained that the fear was always present. Thirty years of hindsight might do that to a person, especially when grief forces you to relive all the moments you were unable to help someone you love.
However, Buckley was a musical prodigy, and we all find ways to justify non-normative behavior when the opportunity to touch greatness presents itself. Berg wisely holds this truth in her hands and delivers a film that is not only accepting of that fact but also non-judgmental about his friends. It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley provides them a place to mourn in public and to remind us that sometimes, the people we love most are the most foreign to us.
She also adds a patina of chaos over the documentary. It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley incorporates journals, his nonstop sketchings, and animation to bring the words of his music to life. The chickenscratch handwriting becomes illuminated, and unlike many documentaries about musical acts, It’s Never Over utilizes the medium to visualize Buckley’s words and the worlds they created. As we hear stories about Buckley’s insistence on taping over Michael Bolton cassettes with random cat noises and audience laughter, it becomes clear that Buckley’s mind was exploding with creativity. Yet, he never had the time to let it all out.
While his rise at small venues and performing covers is exciting, the period after the release of Grace falls a little flat. The story slows down too much, and the bloated nature of the music documentary sneaks into the fold. We do not fault Berg for using every bit of archival footage she could collect. However, we had already established his love for Led Zeppelin and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Exploring the moments he met both artists reveals a kinship but does little else to help us learn more about Buckley.
While the musical bio-documentary has become a way to celebrate the arc of a musician’s career, It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley implores us to wonder about what could have been. It is a story soaked in tragedy, and as such, Berg gives the people who loved Jeff an outlet to express that sadness. While it’s never as formally daring or as proficient as Buckley, It’s Never Over should help expand knowledge of his talent. Having more Jeff Buckley blasting through car speakers has only ever been a good thing.
