‘I: Celine Dion’ movie review: You’ve seen the best of me

The disease shows no regard for even the most respected figures in pop music.

In “I: Celine Dion,” a documentary about the singer on Amazon Prime Video, it quickly becomes clear that Dion has not been able to even move her body, let alone belt out a song with full force, since her teenage years. On, it raised millions. The film, directed by Erin Taylor, chronicles the painful reality of the singer as she battles a rare neurological condition called Stiff Person Syndrome.

in Instagram share In December 2022, Dion tearfully revealed her diagnosis to fans, but the documentary was already in production by then. Taylor opens the film with comforting scenes of Dion at her Las Vegas home with her children and staff. Then comes the painful part: The singer is heard sobbing as she lies on the floor having a seizure. Having learned early on that she’d always wanted to sing “All My Life,” the tragedy of watching Dion, now 56, struggle to keep living that dream is compounded. Dion’s voice made her a star. This film is eager to make her a person.

But there’s nothing subtle about Taylor’s montages, such as intercutting the previous high-energy performance with a display of subdued domestic energy while Dionne vacuums her couch. One shot panned into her eerily empty living room, a stark departure from playing in crowded stadiums. Even the result is painful. Maybe all this apparent sadness is why Taylor interjects clips of Dionne in Better Times.

I understand the tendency not to define Dionne by her diagnosis. But Dion’s expressive, spontaneous personality really shines through her pain in raw shots that feel more connected to her healing journey, as when her physical therapist nags her about cream she didn’t put on her feet. “Give me a break,” she says with playful exasperation.

Then she sings “Gimme a Break” Kitkat Commercial jingle. While a welcome touch of humor draws you into this intimately told story – what’s more relatable than an improvised voiceover? – Unimportant clips to get you out of this situation: her impersonation of Sia on a late-night talk show; Part of it Video “Ashes”. This is what allows Deadpool to last so long; Her career-defining song “My Heart Will Go On” but confusingly, “Carpool Karaoke“Version with James Corden.

These awkward clips undermine the strong emotional atmosphere surrounding seeing Dion transcend her circumstances. Especially when she allows the cameras to linger, showing some of the darkest, wholesome scenes I’ve ever seen from a star on screen.

“I think I was pretty good,” Dionne says of her career. After seeing her sequined costume hanging in her home, the word “was” rings overwhelmingly true. But when she sings during a studio session, she’s still singing He is very good. The final shot shows her as a starry-eyed teenager staring into the stage lights. It’s as if she had something to say after all these years: if not now, then it might all come back to her soon.

Me: Celine Dion
Rated PG. Show duration: 1 hour and 42 minutes. Watch on Prime Video.