Whitney: Can I Be Me

The documentary takes Whitney Houston's career and her death. The narrative is built around one question: the difference between the person the company and the family wanted her to be and who she was. Houston was positioned by her record label for a particular audience; her music, her image and her way of speaking were adjusted to it. The film describes the cost of that adjustment: conflicts with those closest to her, her marriage, drugs, and finally her relationship with her daughter. Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal direct. The documentary dates from 2017. Its most important material is footage shot on a European tour in 1999; that had not been released until then. It was made without the approval of the family and the estate, and for that reason the use of some songs stayed limited. One of the people at the centre is Robyn Crawford, who was closest to Houston for many years, and some of the tensions around her are described through Crawford's position. Broomfield's method is usually to use his own voice; here he does not come forward as narrator and the archive does more of the talking. Its limit is sources; because the family did not take part, some periods remain incomplete. Its best sections are the stage recordings; how the voice changed over the years can be heard directly. Who it is for: viewers who like music documentary and listeners of Houston. Who it is not for: the narrative can approach gossip, the sources are one sided, and the last section is heavy.