Documentary profiling Janis Joplin, one of the most revered and iconic singers of the 1960s. Archive footage, interviews and letters penned to those closest to her present an intimate portrait of a complicated and driven artist, whose rise to fame was as swift as her gradual, fatal descent into substance abuse.
Janis Joplin has proved to be an elusive subject for a biopic, despite numerous attempts to bring her story to the big screen. But it is hard to imagine a Hollywood spin on her life would be more affecting than this documentary, thanks to the blistering footage that director Amy J Berg has assembled of the singer in all her raw, untamed glory. Berg (West of Memphis) may not have the wealth of cameraphone clips and home movies that Asif Kapadia accessed when he made Amy, but there are numerous tragic parallels elsewhere between Joplin and Amy Winehouse, and their respective documentary portraits. Both were plagued by insecurity and a need for affirmation despite their unique talents. Both battled addiction. And both died tragically young when they were beginning to find a new maturity in their music. In fact, one of the most poignant things about Berg's film is the way it traces the arc of Joplin's growth as an artist and gives a hint of the performer she could have become, as she learns to harness the innately feral talent that made her name.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Narrator | Chan Marshall |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Amy Berg |
