What we get from Michael Jackson's This Is It is a feel for the scale of the planned This Is It Tour 2009, the dedication of the production crew and the talent of the dancers, singers and musicians involved.
Perhaps the lack of old footage of the performer in Michael Jackson’s This Is It is due to the screaming contrast it would paint with Michael Jackson’s decrepit condition at the time of filming.
In the weeks and months prior to his death, Michael Jackson was not a man in his prime.
Michael Jackson in Michael Jackson's This Is It
Creeping lightly over London’s O2 Arena stage in a loose fitting silver jacket, orange pants and dark glasses, Michael Jackson looks more like a frail spaceman than a moonwalking legend, with those glasses adding a touch of distinctive and unavoidable eccentricity.
He is the only person in the film whose speech is accompanied by subtitles. It is difficult to understand the softly spoken star without them.
Michael Jackson’s This Is It is not so much a documentary as a "making of" the This Is It Tour 2009. Due to his death less than three weeks prior to opening night, the tour never eventuated.
The Tour: Michael Jackson This Is It Tour 2009
But what a concert it promised to be! Lamenting someone’s death though the perspective of uncompleted tours is hardly compassionate, but it really is a shame this concert wasn’t realised.
Michael shared creative control of the sold out tour with producer and choreographer Kenny Ortega, who took directional reigns of the film after Michael Jackson's death.
Ortega at times appears patronizing towards Michael Jackson, instructing him to hold on to railing "for safety" and "go get some water", but Michael Jackson’s vision for the This Is It Tour 2009 was clear.
Sometimes this vision is expressed directly – “I want it the way I wrote it” – and at other times in a more abstract and characteristic manner. He instructs the band to "let it simmer… just bathe in the moonlight” and editing musical arrangements tells them the audience “have to be totally nourished” by the music.
The Film: Michael Jackson's This Is It
It's impossible to watch the film without wondering what the performer, described as an unceasing perfectionist, would have felt about his rehearsal footage chopped and edited into a quick fix fame hit for the celebrity-obsessed masses.
It is obvious Michael Jackson was not rehearsing to his full ability, skipping lyrics and marking dance moves without throwing in that very special extra polish he was renowned for.
Constantly apologizing for this, Michael Jackson tells on looking crew “I’m just trying to conserve my throat so please understand”.
As his perfect rendition of I’ll Be There reverberates through the almost empty arena, Michael Jackson turns to a small group of awed dancers who are jumping and shaking with excitement, playfully berating them for making him “sing out” and meeting their delight with a humble “at least we get a feel for it”.
More than a feel for it. His singing was as strong as ever. A chilling acoustic rendition of Human Nature is enough to silence his harshest critics. It’s his dancing we cannot judge, this is rehearsal mode, and was always meant to be outshone by the real thing.
If the "real thing" had happened, we would've been treated to a perfectly executed moonwalk. But in Michael Jackson's This Is It, the star rehearses Billie Jean draped in a loose electric blue shirt and silver pants, not the electrically lighted supercostume that was planned, and simply glides through the movements on the spot without traveling the famous walk along the stage.
Dancers and Orianthi Panagaris in Michael Jackson's This Is It
These athletic young dancers chosen for the This Is It Tour 2009 are just what the audition director wanted: “Mean, gorgeous, hot. Dancers that can rock”. They are amazing.
In a fitting display of the American dream, one thrilled young dancer says he had found “a meaning to believe in. This is it”.
Australian guitar prodigy Orianthi Panagaris comes close to stealing the show. The lead guitarist is the epitome of rock chick with blonde hair, leather pants and a steely laidback-cool gaze.
In a poignant onstage moment, Michael Jackson directs the band to stop paying and allow Orianthi a solo. Hovering beside the 24 year-old he tells her “it’s your time to shine… we’ll be right there with you”.
Michael Jackson's This Is It: The final curtain call
For a film built out of hype, it ends on a somber note. In a final shot Michael Jackson stands with his arms splayed and chest open. His head rests back and his eyes are closed.
In simple white text:
Michael Jackson
King of Pop
Love lives forever.
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