Worth: $15.00
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Cast:
John Farnham, Jimmy Barnes, Daryl Braithwaite, Jill Farnham, Paul Dainty, Celine Dion
Intro:
Established fans will get a closer look at the icon, while potential sceptics … will get a properly invigorating and informative depiction of one of Australia’s biggest names.
John Farnham. The Voice. Artist behind the best-selling Aussie album of all time, Whispering Jack. And over the last couple years, he’s been dealing with unfortunate medical problems, hospitalised for a chest infection this past March (although his family has thankfully reported a full recovery). After fellow national icon Shane Warne passed on so soon after his own documentary Shane came out last year, one can only hope that history doesn’t repeat itself. But even if it does, with big-screen memoir Finding the Voice, Farnham’s legacy remains as secure as ever.
Those going into this already as big-time fans of Farnham will get their fill of the approachable and down-to-earth personality that has kept the performer so beloved to this day. As writer/director Poppy Stockell traces his history, from childhood in England to shuffling through musical projects down under to creating his own artistic vision, his affability is shown as his greatest strength as well as his perceived solitary weakness. There’s talk around control concerning his career, especially in relation to his early manager Darryl Sambell, and it makes a solid backdrop for his particular journey to stardom.
But maybe you’re not that big on Farnsy. Maybe you only know him because ‘You’re the Voice’ was in your mum’s record collection, and you grew up on jokes about how he seemed to be on a permanent retirement tour. Well, if anyone wants to get into this to learn about the man for the first time, there’s plenty for them as well. His place as Australia’s great singer is tempered with an underdog progression to his story, with early success in teen pop and the novelty song ‘Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)’ framing his fraught and difficult attempts to break out as a more serious artist later in his career. It’s a recognisable story on two separate fronts, that of the wide-eyed kid trying to be taken seriously as an adult, and the potential one-hit wonder trying to avoid the curse. It also leads to the best use of ukuleles ever captured on film.
But more than strictly being about Farnham himself, this documentary is also about his connection to those around him, in particular his working and personal relationship with bassist and manager Glenn Wheatley, who passed away recently.
John Farnham: Finding the Voice puts in the right emotional and historical foundations so that audiences, old and new, can try and understand Farnham as someone’s talented, likeable, and human son. Established fans will get a closer look at the icon, while potential sceptics who might get roped in by older relatives will get a properly invigorating and informative depiction of one of Australia’s biggest names.
