Originally a TV documentary in 2017, this was the project that George Michael was working on shortly before his untimely death, now expanded to feature film length. Bookended by beautifully elegiac versions of Fastlove and A Different Corner, this is a classy and considered documentary that is polished but has occasional candid moments. With unusually sincere personal talking-heads comments from stars who worked with Michael (including Naomi Campbell, James Corden, Liam Gallagher, Elton John and Stevie Wonder), the early/Wham! era is dispatched in the first ten minutes, but what the film then goes on to do particularly well is put the global megastardom brought by the Faith album into context, notably in America and its ensuing backlash, and the personal crisis that prompted the bitter wrangle for musical independence from Sony. The personal tabloid-fodder journey through the years is by now familiar, leaving the viewer wishing for more about the creation of the music itself, but Freedom Uncut is a poignant reminder of an extraordinary talent that does its job well.
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