Michael – a brilliant sketch of the boy-man
Rating: 8 out of 10
It was not a natural choice for me, but I went along as B wanted to watch it. The movie turned out to be beautiful: deeply moving, and for me a whole new insight into the pop star and his life. I love some of Michael Jackson’s songs (black or white comes to mind). But I am not a music buff or a Michael fan (hadn’t even known “The King of Pop” title!).
The movie is very well made, tightly edited. Dialogs are minimal and impactful, and showcase the character of Michael well – he was kind and gentle, incredibly creative, full of a restless energy, ambitious without aggression, yet simple at heart, not articulate. It is composed of snippets from Michael’s life, brilliantly stitched together to show his life-arc from around age ~8 to ~30. The Thriller album naming, and shooting of the dance scene – examples of impactful film-making. I also loved the fact that the movie is not up to his death, but stops at an earlier defining moment: the London solo tour, after he broke away from the Jackson 5, from his father’s stifling control.
The adult Michael in the movie is played by his nephew Jaafar Jackson. Which also implies that the Jackson family ties did not break off when he went solo.
This movie changed the way I look at Michael – the boy, the man, and the musician. I loved the Peter Pan thread running through the movie. Having never read up or followed Michael Jackson in real-life, during the movie, I scrambled to look up some facts, and later learnt that he created Neverland as his personal sanctuary and refuge.
Young Michael labelled the evil pirate as “Joseph” (his father) in his copy of Peter Pan. Rooted in his traumatic childhood events with his father “taking the belt” to him frequently for simply expressing an opposing opinion. No wonder he addressed his father by name and never as “dad” or “father”. In the movie, the adult Michael is shown to never talk much to his father – most dialogs are one sided, with Michael’s side conveyed by facial expressions rather than words. And then there is his public announcement to break away, on the last day of the Victory Tour – the declaration he could never make to his father’s face, delivered instead to the whole world.
This boy-man touches my heart. His love for animals and reasons thereof resonate with me. The llama, giraffe, the chimpanzee in a diaper! All also used to best cinematic effect – the giraffe casually eavesdropping outside the window for an intense conversation between Michael’s father and mother.
The depiction of Michael’s relationship with his mother also touched a chord. Their shared moments watching Charlie Chaplin and eating ice-cream, were tender and relatable.
Before watching, I’d assumed Michael had a chip on his shoulder about being born Black, that the white appearance was chosen, even desired. Wrong on both counts. The skin disease explains the appearance. And his actual racial position, crystallized in the MTV scene, is something way stronger: “I sing for everyone, not Black or white.”
On and off through the movie, my father was on my mind – the Carnatic loving, Western-pop-despising man. I wondered what he might think if he saw the poor origin story of Michael, the underdog achieving such world fame. Would he nuance his opinion and recognize the brilliant voice of Michael? Will he see beyond the music and the dance that he considers crass and evoking “base animal instincts”? Based on my other attempts to connect with him on subjects where he had strong opinions, I think he will remain sadly close-minded.
The movie piqued my curiosity enough to want to know more. I decided to look up whether Neverland still exists (changed hands, but still does as a private estate), and whether there were biographies of Michael. While there are many sites and documentaries bent on smearing his name, it is surprisingly hard to find a book without those “angles”. Finally did, with my criteria:
I’m sympathetic to Michael Jackson as a fellow-human, and would like to find as close a narrative as possible to “the truth”. I understand that his powerful estate could cloud undesirable matters but i am not looking for counter narratives that go out to dig up dirt.
Managed to find this: MICHAEL JACKSON:: THE MAGIC, THE MADNESS, THE WHOLE STORY, 1958-2009 by J. Randy Taraborrelli, Format: Kindle Edition.
There’s another related one, Michael Jackson Conspiracy that might be interesting – the book writeup says:
Aphrodite Jones uses the court transcripts and photo evidence never before seen by the public to tell the real story behind the salacious headlines — and what went on inside — and outside — Michael Jackson’s highly sensationalized 2005 criminal trial. Turns out, inside the courtroom, there was no proof offered of Michael Jackson as a sinister character, and no proof that he committed a single crime. In their efforts to win ratings, Jones proves, the media completely missed the truth. Back then, Jackson was the pop icon everyone loved to hate. Now, with Michael Jackson Conspiracy, he may be restored to the pop icon everyone loves to love.
Featured Image by Nicolas DEBRAY from Pixabay.
