Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now
Year: 2023
Director: Joe Perlman
Starring: Lewis Capaldi
Runtime: 96 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 06/07/23
Director: Joe Perlman
Starring: Lewis Capaldi
Runtime: 96 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 06/07/23
New musical artists pop up all the time and often become a blip in pop culture consciousness. They have a couple of hits, maybe gain traction at a festival, but shortly thereafter fade into obscurity either never to be heard from again or have a very small but loyal fanbase. Most artists start small and grow their fanbase over time, the biggest musical acts in the world all went on that journey. But few ever achieve what Scottish artist Lewis Capaldi achieved in the late 2010’s. He quite literally burst onto the scene in 2019 with multiple hit songs, an album that topped the UK charts for six weeks and went on to be the best-selling album in the UK for two years straight and sold out every single live show he performed. This man was a real phenomenon, and even outside of his music he was making a name for himself with his very honest and funny social media presence. Without even warming up, Capaldi became one of the biggest UK music artists of all time, and people were hungry for more. But the toll that kind of instant fame can have on a person is devastating, and Netflix’s new documentary film seeks to explore the lengthy and difficult creation of Capaldi’s recently released sophomore album.
Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now should be as grand, inventive, and as deeply engaging as the man himself. But unfortunately, it’s a rather by the numbers peek behind the curtain at the creation of an album. Capaldi has been very open about his mental health issues over the past few years, as well as his recent diagnosis with Tourette’s Syndrome, and that is often the focus of the documentary too. He opens up about, as the title suggests, how he’s feeling right now. But the way in which director Joe Perlman presents this doesn’t have the same kind of artistic genius as Capaldi’s music. It feels static, informative, well-rehearsed; a far cry from Capaldi’s spontaneous and fun persona.
Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now should be as grand, inventive, and as deeply engaging as the man himself. But unfortunately, it’s a rather by the numbers peek behind the curtain at the creation of an album. Capaldi has been very open about his mental health issues over the past few years, as well as his recent diagnosis with Tourette’s Syndrome, and that is often the focus of the documentary too. He opens up about, as the title suggests, how he’s feeling right now. But the way in which director Joe Perlman presents this doesn’t have the same kind of artistic genius as Capaldi’s music. It feels static, informative, well-rehearsed; a far cry from Capaldi’s spontaneous and fun persona.
That’s not to say it doesn’t inform the viewer well. It is after all a documentary and it does present facts, Lewis’ truth, his story away from the music and bright lights. It paints him as the human being he is, the young lad from a town just outside Glasgow who lives with his parents in a normal house, on a normal street. That is by far the most interesting angle to this documentary, seeing Lewis coming to terms with being stuck in his family home during the COVID-19 pandemic following a hugely successful tour and writing his second album. He’s an international star, and he works out of a shed in his parents’ garden. But Perlman’s film doesn’t home in on those elements often, instead it’s more concerned about getting Lewis to divulge his song writing process, something that is significantly less interesting than Lewis’ actual life.
It's a run of the mill documentary for an extraordinary artist. Anyone who’s a fan of Capaldi’s music will definitely enjoy what they watch, but I couldn’t help but feel that there were more interesting stories to tell. When Lewis got to talk about his life, his family, and his health, that was the good stuff, but that was given the least amount of attention in the edit. The film is always wanting to draw to back to his celebrity status, and his working process, and his achievements. I don’t know about you but I just wanted to get to know more about what makes Lewis the way he is, not about how he’s going to follow up his first album.
It's a run of the mill documentary for an extraordinary artist. Anyone who’s a fan of Capaldi’s music will definitely enjoy what they watch, but I couldn’t help but feel that there were more interesting stories to tell. When Lewis got to talk about his life, his family, and his health, that was the good stuff, but that was given the least amount of attention in the edit. The film is always wanting to draw to back to his celebrity status, and his working process, and his achievements. I don’t know about you but I just wanted to get to know more about what makes Lewis the way he is, not about how he’s going to follow up his first album.