Little Richard: I Am Everything

Lisa Cortes: Little Richard: I Am Everything (US 2023).

2023

Biopic / Identity / Music

Theme: Power of Art

Country: United States

Director: Lisa Cortés

Production: Caryn Capotosto, Lisa Cortés, Robert Friedman, Liz Yale Marsh / Bungalow Media + Entertainment

Duration: 101 min

Rating: K12

Savoy, Love & Anarchy: Helsinki International Film Festival (HIFF), 17 Sep 2023

Katariina Kantola (HIFF 2023): " ”Olkaa hiljaa!” Yhdysvaltalaisen rock’n’roll-artisti Little Richardin tapana oli napauttaa yleisö tai juontaja hiljaiseksi kesken haastatteluiden. Little Richard (1932–2020), viralliselta nimeltään Richard Wayne Penniman, antoi äänensä kuulua tv-studioissa, hittikappaleissaan ja esiintymislavoilla, mutta myös raivatessaan mustana homoseksuaalisena artistina itselleen arvostusta ja tunnustusta yhtenä rockmusiikin merkittävimmistä vaikuttajista. "

" Tuottaja Lisa Cortésin ohjaamassa dokumentissa tutustutaan ristiriitaiseen ja määrittelyjä väistävään artistiin. Little Richard esiintyi itsevarmana, meikeissään ja asuissaan säteilevänä tähtenä, jonka seksuaalista energiaa sykkivät kappaleet ja esiintymiset nostivat hänet suosioon 1950-luvun lopulla. Kiihkeää elämää seurasivat jaksot, jolloin hän hylkäsi syntisenä pitämänsä rock’n’rollin ja oman seksuaalisuutensa ja etsi itseään saarnaamisesta ja gospel-musiikista. "

" Palkintoehdokkuuksia kerännyt, säihkyvä elokuva juhlistaa Little Richardin ainutlaatuista karismaa. Tähtipölyn vastapainona artistien ja tutkijoiden haastattelut taustoittavat Little Richardin merkitystä rockmusiikin ”alkuräjähdyksenä” sekä tienraivaajana mustille ja queer-taustaisille artisteille. " Katariina Kantola

Quoted by HIFF (2023): " If Little Richard AKA Richard Wayne Penniman, was criminally underrated for much of his career, his legacy has burned bright since his death in May 2020. (…) "

" As for this doc, it does an impressive job of reminding us how much generations of rock stars, from Tom Jones to Mick Jagger, Elton John and Prince, have owed to Little Richard, and how radical his presence was in a world not yet ready to pay for his talent. " Mark Kermode, The Guardian

" Mick Jagger says, point-blank: “He was everything.” John Waters, whose mustache is a deliberate “nod” to Little Richard, is voluminous on the man’s example of rebellion and breaking down walls. Billy Porter is a crucial participant as a contemporary artist, saying, “He gave you permission to be who you wanted to be.” These comments go way beyond the musical impact, which was considerable (Paul McCartney’s bloodcurdling screams began as a teenage boy’s attempt to sound like his idol). Lady Java, a 79-year-old nightclub performer and trans rights activist whose nightclub act Little Richard caught in the mid-’60s, leading to a lifelong friendship, is interviewed. She speaks of him with tenderness and shades in the nuances of Little Richard’s complicated personality. " Sheila O’Malley, RogerEbert.com

Language: English

Subtitles: Finnish

Distribution: ELKE

Print source: ELKE

Cinematography: Keith Walker, Graham Willoughby

Editing: Jake Hostetter, Nyneve Laura Minnear

Music: Tamar-kali

Sound: Andres E. Marthe Gonzalez

AA: Lisa Cortés's angle in her electrifying documentary on Little Richard is queer: coming from the margins, from a small town in the segregated South, "The South is the house of all things queer". In 1950s USA the very presence of a sexually confident Black artist was a revolutionary act. Paradoxically, the excess and going over the top as queer functioned as a shelter. This is a tale of a struggle for survival in a period of prejudice, violence and discrimination. The hits of Black artists were appropriated by Whites, and Black talent was cheated by the agents and the copyright holders.

Little Richard was deeply religious, and deeply torn, withdrawn for long periods from the music world, and then drawn back to it again. Lisa Cortés has assembled an invaluable set of witnesses who go on record on Little Richard. I'm a bit annoyed by the soundbite style of fast edits when I would prefer to hear these people talking without being constantly interrupted.

The most valuable aspect of the film is in cultural and social history: the great transformation of society after WWII. Little Richard was a huge influencer in his own right and via the many artists he directly inspired including Elvis Presley, The Beatles (Little Richard taught Paul McCartney the technique of singing the highest and loudest notes), The Rolling Stones, Tom Jones, James Brown, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, David Bowie and Queen. Little Richard had the bravado to be flamboyant and take over the whole stage for his performance. The stage became his world of entertainment.

I have been a Little Richard fan since the rock and roll revival of the early 1970s. I was surprised to find that this film is not very music-driven. There is not a single complete prime Little Richard performance. There are endless bits and pieces, but I miss the experience of a fulfilled incredible dramaturgy of a song. Might there be a backstory about copyright complications behind the mystery. In recent years, the Little Richard song I have most often listened is "Directly From My Heart To You". It is missing from the movie.

SOUNDTRACK ALBUM:

1. Good Golly, Miss Molly – Little Richard (2:09)

2. Strange Things Happening Every Day – Valerie June (2:52)

3. Baby (Demo) – Little Richard (4:21)

4. I’m Just a Lonely Guy (All Alone) – Little Richard (2:36)

5. Tutti Frutti – Little Richard and His Band (2:23)

6. Long Tall Sally – Little Richard and His Band (2:08)

7. Lucille – Little Richard and His Band (2:23)

8. Bama Lama Bama Loo – Little Richard (2:13)

9. Rip It Up – Little Richard and His Band (2:23)

10. Ready Teddy – Little Richard and His Band (2:08)

11. The Girl Can’t Help It – Little Richard and His Band (2:29)

12. Send Me Some Lovin’ – Little Richard and His Band (2:18)

13. Tutti Frutti – Cory Henry (1:49)

14. Legacy – Tamar-kali (1:41)