THE STORY – Never-before-seen footage, exclusive voice messages, and accounts from Jeff Buckley’s inner circle paint a captivating portrait of the gifted musician who died tragically in 1997, having only released one album.
THE CAST – N/A
THE TEAM – Amy Berg (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 106 Minutes
Jeff Buckley is the kind of brilliant artist whose life burned out far too quickly but has only seen increasing popularity nearly 30 years after his shocking death. The singer-songwriter only ever released one full-length album in his lifetime, the masterpiece “Grace,” and yet his impact and influence are felt all throughout the music world. With her documentary, “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley,” filmmaker Amy Berg traces his life and career with incredible detail. For those who consider Buckley one of the world’s greatest talents, it’s a gift of a film that only further deepens the ocean-like depths of emotion found in every single one of his songs.
The film tracks his life from an unorthodox beginning to a sudden end. Born to teenager Mary Guibert, his father Tim was a musician with no interest in being a father. Instead, he left Mary and Jeff behind to pursue his rock star dreams. He only met Jeff once, when his son was eight years old, before dying of an overdose at age 28. Jeff made a splash as a performer at his father’s funeral, playing to an astonished crowd. He then moved to New York City to have a go at a music career, doing all he could to escape his father’s shadow. He was signed to Columbia Records, who produced “Grace,” which was a hit in Europe but only a moderate success in the States. Still, he embarked on a successful world tour before eventually starting work on a second album. But before it could be completed, he drowned at the age of 30 after going for a spontaneous swim in Memphis’s Wolf River.
This bizarre, unexpected death has only given what little music he released an even more precious quality. He sings with agonizing energy as if every song might be his last, with his voice cresting further and further up his register in a way that always feels on the verge of breaking. But he never does, choosing to either unleash the full power of his vocal instrument or bring it down to a whisper, almost as if to represent two tactics of imploring a departing lover to stay – loud and pained or quiet and desperate. And what songs! Every one of his original pieces feels pulled from a private room in the sprawling mansion that is his emotional being, and he gives new meaning to every plaintive lyric of his covers. After all, he has the definitive version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” delivering a performance that feels more shatteringly beautiful and holy than any church hymn. Couple his vocal dynamics with his evocative, haunting guitar playing, and it’s clear why so many continue to adore him.
Berg clearly has such affection for Buckley, and she brilliantly deploys his songs throughout her biography. Wisely, she uses his lyrics to underscore moments all throughout his brief life when thematically appropriate, rather than waiting to dispatch his songs only when exploring the times in his life when he wrote them. This gives the impression that his songs speak to all aspects of his existence, as if he had these thoughts inside of him his whole life, even before he put pen to paper. She visualizes these songs with gritty animated sequences that are reminiscent of ‘90s rock animation, perhaps the type that would be used in music videos or MTV transitional sequences. These help bring viewers to the time of Buckley’s creative output.
As she winds through Buckley’s life in a mostly linear fashion, she highlights the many loves he had throughout his life. These include ex-girlfriends, former lovers, friends, and his mother. This approach makes total sense when exploring the life of someone whose emotions were so apparent in both his art and how he lived his life. Those who survived him talk in equal measure about his light and dark sides. It’s clear that Buckley had demons he was actively working to overcome, but they don’t compare to the love he left behind. Incredibly, his loved ones offer up a vast amount of private recordings of Jeff, including videos and voice messages (although some of the audio on these older recordings is difficult to comprehend).
These archival pieces are incredibly valuable resources that help paint a fuller picture of the man than just what his music provides. Berg layers audio, songs, visualized lyrics, and animation, often all on screen at the same time, which can have the effect of being occasionally too overwhelming. It feels as if Berg is afraid of leaving any piece of material out, whether it be previously unseen moments or his limited catalog of songs.
Fans of Jeff Buckley are unlikely to complain. With a finite number of ways to experience the passion of the late singer, it’s hard to take issue with being inundated by anything he touched. Amy Berg has crafted a loving tribute to a genius who was lost far too soon. But as her film shows, his music continues to resonate profoundly with all who hear it, giving welcome words and meaning to the most indescribable behaviors of the heart.
