ThiefHott Too much of everything

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

cardsovercubs-76197 This documentary isn't just for fans of George Michael. This is an insightful look at an extraordinary artist. Over 95 minutes, George primarily focuses on the time from his release of Listen Without Prejudice through his much publicized court case with Sony in the early to mid 1990's. Especially for any fans in the U.S., you will learn why it seemed George Michael may have disappeared from the music scene.

paul2001sw-1 'Freedom' is a documentary about Geroge Michael's life mostly put together by the singer himself before his untimely death last year. And it was an interesting life, that of a Watford schoolboy who became a global pop star, a legal warrior fighting his record company, and a gay man who finally embraced his sexual identity. Unfortunately, this film is not particularly interesting: Michael was a private man, and the story as told doesn't feel particularly personal. Nor is there a great discussion of the music, beyond the obligatory parade of talking heads who gush but offer no insight. The main thing that comes across is Michael's professional self-belief and ambition; though he talked of slavery in his battle with Sony, we get the sense less of a free spirit unable to work with the man, and more of someone angry he was not getting the respect he considered his talent deserved. I'd have liked to know more about the real George Michael; but here I felt I saw only what Michael wanted to be seen.

Paul Allaer "George Michael: Freedom" (2017 release from the UK; 95 min.) is another documentary about the life and times, but mostly the music, of George Michael. As the documentary opens, we touch briefly on Wham! before moving on to "Faith", and how its global success overwhelmed George Michael. By the time we move on to "Listen Without Prejudice", we are well into the documentary.Couple of comments: this documentary is co-directed by David Austin (who has directed two previous documentaries on George Michael) and... George Michael himself. So if you are expecting to "get the dirt" on what George Michael really is like, you will be sorely disappointed. Instead, we get a chronological overview of the music in his solo career, with plenty of excerpts and correlating commentary by Michael himself and many other talking heads, including Elton John, Liam Gallagher, Mark Ronson, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder, etc. You can pick up some interesting tidbits here and there (I never knew that George Michael wrote "Heal the Pain" as a tribute to Paul McCartney). Given that this documentary focuses on his solo career, there is no sight of or commentary by Andrew Ridgeley. While there are a couple of passages that discuss his personal relationships, that also is kept to a minimum. While his fight with Sony gets LOTS of screen time, other non-music incidents (such as his arrest in Hollywood) are left out entirely. So again, if you are looking for a more personal side of George Michael, this is the wrong documentary for you. If on the other hand you want to revisit some of Michael's best tunes and get the inside scoop of them, then this documentary will be right up your alley."George Michael: Freedom" premiered in the US recently on Showtime. I really didn't know what to expect, but nevertheless looked forward to catching it. Bottom line is this: "George Michael: Freedom" is pleasant viewing, no more, no less. But one day someone is going to make the definitive George Michael documentary, a la "Amy" by director Asif Kapadia.

nicerep What I really liked about this documentary was the insight we got, from George himself, into the beautiful lyrics that he wrote and performed, especially after the death of his first real love, Anselmo. George told us what inspired his song writing before and after his meeting with Anselmo and he showed us, with the help of musical clips, how his various emotions manifested themselves through song. His happiness when he met Anselmo, his sadness when Anselmo died and when his mother died of cancer, his anger when Sony refused to let him go and his humour after his unfortunate encounter in a Beverly Hills loo, Ricky Gervais made us laugh with his take on the affair. Elton John seemed to understand George well and perhaps surprisingly, Liam Gallagher too.They, along with a few other celebrities, helped us get to know George better and by the time Chris Martin started to sing "A Different Corner", his tribute to George at the Brit Awards, there were tears in my eyes. I met George Michael many years ago and we all knew he was gay, but most of all it was obvious that he was a very kind person and very vulnerable, which comes across during this fine documentary. You will laugh and probably cry when you watch Freedom, I dare you not too!