by Cain Noble-Davies
Worth: $18.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Billie Eilish, Finneas
Intro:
… truly astounding.
After tapping one-man film crew Robert Rodriguez for her Disney+ special Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles, Billie Eilish has made a return to the Battle Angel Alita cinematic universe and gotten James Cameron to co-direct her new concert film. Yes, a chance email to Eilish’s mother Maggie Baird (possibly after watching the ‘Happier Than Ever’ music video and having a ‘game recognise game’ moment) led to one of the most forward-thinking filmmakers still working today collaborating with one of the biggest names in Gen Z pop. And the result is truly astounding.
Filmed during the titular tour at the Manchester Co-op Live in July of last year, the show itself is all kinds of incredible on its own. The set list is strong, covering everything from deep cuts off her older EPs, to the sleep paralysis demon trap of her label debut, to the COVIDentity crisis of ‘Happier Than Ever’, to the assured allure of her latest. The synesthetic colour washes and pyrotechnics flood the frame with just the right mood for each track, and Eilish’s energy throughout is consistently hype. Her breathy vocals and manic movement across that stage (and hanging above it at times) are captivating to the point where even lukewarm audiences will at least understand the tear-stained reactions from her adoring fans. Hell, by the time it gets to the intimate framing of ‘When the Party’s Over’, complete with real-time vocal looping, the awe painted on the screen might even convert a few haters.
On that note, James Cameron is not messing around with giving this the full cinematic treatment. Bookended by timelapses of the entire stage being built up and broken down, his overview and swanky 3D camera tech capture just as much of what goes into a show on this scale as the show itself. And the 3D effect works beautifully within this format, forgoing gimmicky camera-lunges for a more immersive deep focus that pulls the audience right into that arena. It’s effective to the point of being unintentionally genius as, whenever raised arms from the audience pop into the foreground in the wider shots, there’s a split second where it looks like someone in the furthest back row of the cinema stood up at the wrong moment. But rather than being mildly distracting, it just creates more connection, as if the concert isn’t on a screen but actually in the same room. Concert films are rarely, if ever, this good at translating that kind of experience.
By Cameron’s own admission, this is primarily Eilish’s feature, even joking at one point about putting his own name in microscopic text next to hers. And to that end, most of what he provides outside of the concert itself is all in service to Eilish’s own take on being a pop star. Dog therapy rooms, brushing off claw marks from zealous fans because she’s been there, and wanting to give the weird alt-kids a space to let the demons out. It also flows incredibly well with the setlist, going from her discussing how Hip Hop influenced her music and performance style to a block of positively slam-worthy tracks, and her musings on self-image leading into ‘What Was I Made For?’. For two creatives at such seeming opposed ends of the creative spectrum, the synergy is mesmerising.
Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live In 3D) is the best kind of bonkers moviegoing experience a Billie Eilish fan (or fan-in-waiting) could ask for. The camera work, editing, and 3D visuals elevate what is already an astounding showing from Billie into a masterclass on how to make a concert both mind-bogglingly expansive and breathing-the-same-air intimate at the same time. James Cameron is still flexing his technical prowess for the masses, and Billie is still showing the world how much she changed it as soon as she took out that Invisalign. Even if your only experience with the artist is hearing ‘Bad Guy’, give your soul a good cleansing and check this out. Just… keep an eye out for rolling impromptu moshpits in those cinemas, because this is a fan base that does not mess around.
