ELTON JOHN: NEVER TOO LATE

United States of America | 2024 | 102m | English

Cast: Elton John

Director(s): R.J. Cutler, David Furnish

We begin at that same stadium, but in 1975 at the first peak of John’s fame, when he played to more than 100,000 fans over two nights. In retrospect, he notes, “There was an emptiness within me.” Weaving together intimate interviews with never-before-seen archival footage and photographs, Cutler and Furnish slowly reveal the megastar, from his prodigious childhood talent, through all his self doubts and demons, to where he has landed today. “This is where you start to think about mortality,” the 77-year-old says, and it proves to be a powerful motivator to take stock.

Fans will know some of this story from John’s autobiography and the Rocketman biopic. But nothing beats the rare images on display here, or the star’s own candour.

Even with the highs, lows, and heartbreak John recounts, the deepest emotional impact comes from the love and family that little Reginald Dwight found at last with Furnish, and continues to share with the world.

Courtesy of TIFF

TIFF 24 REVIEW BY: DARREN ZAKUS

DATE: SEPTEMBER 12, 2024

RATING: 4 out of 5

Elton John: Never Too Late is an intimate and crowd pleasing look at one of the world’s greatest musicians as he prepares to retire from touring, providing fans a look down memory lane at the star’s rise to fame while giving Elton John himself his own opportunity to reflect on his life.

Almost as popular as music biopics about some of the world’s most popular artists, are music documentaries about them. While watching fictionalized retellings of their lives and seeing their most iconic performances recreated is a great way to experience your favourite artists on the big screen, hearing from them or their professional collaborators while watching archival footage and photographs from their illustrious careers is a more personal look at their lives. And even though Elton John already has documentaries made about him, with him recently retiring from touring, it is the perfect time for both audiences to reflect on his long running career and for Elton to reflect on his life, in this entertaining documentary narrated in Elton’s own words set to a soundtrack of his greatest hits.

The documentary plays out in two timelines: one following Elton’s rise to fame building towards his iconic Dodger’s Stadium performance in Los Angeles in 1975, and the other following Elton on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour as he travels the world building towards his final US tour stop at Dodger’s Stadium as well, providing a thematic symmetry in the two timelines. While covering his rise to power, Elton spends time speaking about his collaborations with his lyricist and friend Bernie Taupin, his artistic vision when it comes to music writing, and his friendship with John Lennon, going beyond his well known struggles with addiction and finding real love after his troubled relationship with his manager John Reid. It’s not anything new covered in terms of material, but hearing Elton speak about his career and life himself provides some new insights for his fans. For the present day material, Elton and his husband David Furnish’s work is highlighted as they champion young artists on their podcast, the life they have built together is touched upon, as well as their two young boys which is the reason Elton is retiring from touring. It’s in these moments where Elton’s interviews get emotional, as he knows his time with his family is precious but also limited, which is the reason why he is retiring from touring.

To tell Elton’s life story, directors R.J. Cutler and Furnish utilize archival footage of Elton’s concerts and interviews, and photographs from his career to visually present his life story to audiences, in addition to some brief animation sequences to bring to life moments that were not caught on camera. Narrating the film is Elton himself, with interview recordings from the preparation of his autobiography Me back in 2019 used for the main source of the film’s audio. Even if the story that is narrated is nothing fans of his aren’t familiar with between his autobiography and the film Rocketman, the treat of this documentary is the seeing some of the unseen footage and hearing Elton reflect on his legendary career in his own words, all set to the most popular songs of his career.

And while it’s a documentary, the film ends with a mini concert performance with select songs from his final performance at Dodger’s Stadium on November 20, 2022. After watching his career unfold in front of your eyes in this documentary, watching part of one of his final performances hits just a little harder (especially if Elton is your favourite musician like me), making for one bittersweet farewell to one chapter of his life as he moves onto the next stage of his life.

There are some films that are made for fans, and even though they don’t offer anything new in terms of information, it’s everything you want it to be, and that is exactly what Elton John: Never Too Late is. Bursting from the seams with Elton John’s infectious energy, this documentary that tracks the course of his career is a celebration of music, life and love that is guaranteed to be a hit amongst his fans. Going back to his plough, Elton John: Never Too Late is an emotional farewell to Elton John’s touring career as an artist as he reflects on his career and looks forward to the next chapter in his life in a documentary full of archival footage that fans of his won’t want to miss, combined with his music, making for one of the most crowd pleasing documentaries of the year.