CinemaSerf

At the risk of swimming against the tide, here - is this really a film at all? Certainly it's an exceptionally high-spec production of a concert from Billie Eilish, and it clearly demonstrates that she is charismatic, engaging and talented - but we have seen so many films of concerts that perhaps aren't in 3D, but that do, and have done, exactly the same as this for decades. Britain's largest indoor venue is packed to the rafters with adoring - even adulatory - fans from a myriad of backgrounds, sexualities, races, creeds and many of them believe that Eilish is their best friend; their inspiration for getting through the day and their equivalent of a deity. She, when we see her backstage, comes across as someone acutely aware of the role she plays in the lives of those who know every lyric to every song she has ever written (and she knows exactly how to make sure they are given every opportunity to join in and share in the experience), and in that she presents a modest and appreciative woman who is as far removed from a diva as it's possible to get. She is an engagingly down-to-earth lady whose humanity and sensitivity is writ large and naturally throughout. James Cameron and his array of technical gizmos, as well as some impressive and colourful set design, give this whole show a polished sheen to it and, of course, the songs are delivered with an acoustic excellence that belies the fact that she is but a tiny dot amidst an enormous cacophony of noise and an ocean of mobile phone torches. Maybe it's just my age, and/or my cynicsm, but I did find the contributions of some of her fans to be a bit cringe making, but perhaps that has been the way ever since Elvis or the Beatles or Whitney Houston took to a stage and changed lives for those enthralled in the crowd. This is a classy and stylish enterprise and if you are a fan of her music then you'll love it. For me, though, I felt just a bit too detached by the sheer professionalism of the whole thing and at times it came across as just a little sterile.