Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry (2021)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
A definite surprise, The World’s a Little Blurry is one of the best music documentaries of recent years and an uncompromising, all-access look at the machine that envelopes young celebrity and how it impacts them.
It is next to impossible to watch this and not understand why so many people are fans of Billie Eilish and her collaborator and brother Finneas O’Connell.
There are some moments here that resonate long after they occur in the film.
NO
Look, if you tell me that 140 minutes is too long for a documentary on Billie Eilish, I am not necessarily going to disagree - except I might point out the fact that you have probably binge-watched far less quality programming for hundreds more minutes than it takes to watch this. Just saying.
Not having Apple TV+ or a theater you are willing to visit, with IMAX capabilities, is certainly a limiting factor in seeing the film.
Yeah, I’m out on reasons to avoid seeing this. The film is just that good. I suppose if you’re not a fan of Eilish’s music, you’re not watching - I would just counter with the fact that this film gives tremendous insight into the youth and fame in a way I have not seen in quite some time.
OUR REVIEW
On the one hand, a feature-length documentary about a singer who has just turned 18 and had one major hit album seems premature. We live in a fickle world. We scroll through social media with a swiping up or down or left or right. People typically do not read more than two paragraphs of anything anymore and that likely includes you, perhaps scanning this review to get a sense of what I thought of the film or what the star rating is, etc. and then moving on to the next thing.
This social media generation has, in part, made Billie Eilish a global icon. Her unique style, probing, insightful lyrics, and unwavering demeanor to be who she wants to be and not care what others think about her, has earned her more than 76 million Instagram followers.
Except she cares quite a bit, which makes Eilish a fascinating choice for a feature-length documentary. What Oscar-nominated filmmaker R.J. Cutler shows us in Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry is why she has made a deep connection with so many people. At 18 years of age (largely 17 through much of the film), her intelligence and worldview are wise beyond their years. And yet, she swoons over Justin Bieber to the point of tears. She has a pet tarantula. She dies her hair neon green. She struggles finding meaning in a relationship with her seemingly indifferent boyfriend, identified on screen as “Q.”
For all the ways Eilish is “just another teenager,” she is obviously not that. She is the biggest pop star in the world, perhaps next to Bieber and Ariana Grande now. Her debut album, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” and subsequent tour and merchandise sales earned her $53 million in 2020. She won five Grammys and became the first female artist to sweep the Big Four (Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, and Album of the Year). And at her side, her brother Finneas O’Connell, four years older, who writes and performs with his sister and produces and arranges all of her music.
Growing up homeschooled in Los Angeles, her parents have connection to the entertainment industry. Her father, Patrick O’Connell, is a former actor and construction worker, while mother, Maggie Baird, has worked prominently as a voice actor and used to teach improv at The Groundlings. And while Eilish has undoubtedly reaped some benefit from industry connections of her parents to help guide both her and Finneas through a career in the entertainment industry, Eilish’s frank and halting lyrics about mental health, self-doubt, and depression are unflinchingly honest and created from real, lived-in moments and experiences.
That captivating realness is a reason why people keep listening to an Eilish song 30 seconds in or spend more than a minute or two looking at her latest photo shoot or reading her latest interview. And why, viewers will likely settle in and immerse themselves with this fantastic 140-minute documentary; as interesting and insightful a music documentary as I have seen in recent years. There’s very little pretentiousness with Eilish, or her brother for that matter. There is an authenticity that commands our attention and, at least for now, sets her far apart from the gang of wannabe’s and sound-alike’s who are already flooding A&R offices and angling for record deals, hoping to be the “next Billie Eilish.”
Cutler has extraordinary access to Eilish’s meteoric rise to fame. From her days as a dancer to the debut of “Ocean Eyes,” a gorgeous, sustainable ballad that exploded on Soundcloud in 2016, The World’s a Little Blurry embeds with the singer as she prepares to launch that eventual groundbreaking, game-changing album. We see her going out on tour, taking part in photo shoots, sitting for a laborious music video where she comes away stating, “I’m directing all of these from now on.”
We have more than our fair share of music documentaries where young singers are slung around the pop music star-making machine, play for millions of fans around the world, talk about how tired they are, have adults praise their talent and set them up as idols. Elements of that certainly exist here, but Cutler finds a humanity amidst the chaos that enveloped Eilish in 2019.
Through her connection to her parents and brother, Eilish has a support group around her that others are not as fortunate to have. A moving subplot involves her meeting and eventually forming a friendship with her teenage crush, Justin Bieber. Bieber, a poster child for being chewed up, spit out, and forced to go through hell to find a quasi-sense of peace with fame and celebrity, calls Eilish the night of her Grammy wins. He reminds her how proud of her he is, how amazing a talent she is, and that she is going to have a really intense 10 years or so. He advises her to try and enjoy the moments, his voice wavering as he struggles to make eye contact with her on FaceTime.
Earlier, when meeting Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom before her 2019 Coachella performance, Perry shares the same advice. “This will be really intense for, like, 10 years…”. Eilish later reflects that she cannot have one off-moment with the press, her label, or anyone with a financial interest in her success. The weight on her shoulders is already immense.
Sadly, the proverbial 10-year window Bieber and Perry endured is still in Year One for Eilish, a year where she has sprained an ankle, underwent treatment for debilitating shin splints, struggled with bouts of recurring Tourette’s Syndrome episodes, grappled with her mental stability, and fought through emotional peaks and valleys.
All in all, The World’s a Little Blurry is an exceptional look behind the engines revving up and the rockets getting strapped to a young artist’s back. Cutler, a gifted documentarian and storyteller, has crafted an eye-opening and riveting experience which captures a young girl, whether she’s ready or not, becoming the voice of her generation.
CAST & CREW
Documentary Featuring: Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell, Maggie Baird, Patrick O’Connell, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom
Director: R.J. Cutler
Written by: R.J. Cutler
Release Date: February 26, 2021
Apple TV+