TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2015 // A FILM REVIW OF "MARY J. BLIGE: THE LONDON SESSIONS"
The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, runs April 15th-26th and features hundreds of features, documentaries, short films, and special events all throughout downtown New York City. The ArtsWire Weekly's three featured reviewers Mateo, Derek, & Chrisena are hitting the festival and bringing the reviews right to you! What you should see and what you should skip...
Re-inventing oneself as an artist is no easy task, especially when that artist is well known for doing one thing and doing it rather well. This short film explores Mary J. Blige’s artistic journey into a new sound. It is only forty five minutes long but it tells a decent story. While MARY J. BLIGE: THE LONDON SESSIONS did seem a bit more like a ‘behind the scenes’ featurette that would be found as an extra on her newest album, it was an intriguing forty five minutes.
Mary talks about her struggle to break free from drugs and alcohol, and how winning that battle has given her the courage to find the sound she always wanted her music to have. She decides to trek to London for this creative period so that she can be free to create with some of music’s biggest innovators. Among these collaborators is Sam Smith, who helps write lyrics and music for Mary, helping her design a soulful sound layered on top of hip-hop beats. It really is fascinating to watch the collaborations happen, and see how the tracks evolve from their first recordings to the stage performances.
It may not be a great work of art, but this film creates a solid window into Mary J. Blige’s process, that any one of her fans would be thrilled to glance through. Plus if you attend the screening, Mary will be performing some of her new tracks afterward, which really would be a treat. I know I plan on buying her newest album ASAP, and that’s all because of this film.
VERDICT: SEE IT (if you are a HUGE Mary J. Blige fan)
DIRECTED BY Sam Wrench FEATURING Mary J. Blige, Sam Smith, Disclosure, Emeli Sandé, Naughty Boy, Sam Romans.
Playing as part of The 2015 Tribeca International Film Festival. For tickets & schedules: http://www.tribecafilm.com
CHRISENA RICCI once went to a costume party dressed in an all black dress and black wig. No one there could guess who she was. So she shouted out, "I'm Christina Ricci, without the T or I and add an E!" Everyone stood there confused, she was annoyed, so she stormed off. She never returned to that apartment ever again. Which is fine, because she later realized she was at the wrong party. She now lives in New York City.