Review of “I Am: Celine Dion”: The Canadian diva seems stronger than ever in this eye-opening documentary from Prime
The icon’s power ballads, like “My Heart Will Go On” and “I’m Alive,” take on new meaning in light of her suffering with stiff person syndrome.
Who exactly is Celine Dion? A certain amount of public openness to your life is necessary to become a celebrity of her kind. In Dion’s case, it has meant appearing in numerous interviews and features discussing her background—she was the youngest of 14 children raised in a low-income Canadian family—her loves—she had a soulmate-level relationship with her manager and producer, René Angélil—and her losses—she had to deal with the death of her spouse.
Irene Taylor, the director of “I Am: Celine Dion,” makes the assumption that the singer’s admirers are aware of all of this, spending little more than five minutes of her own feature-length documentary on the subject. This isn’t your typical “Behind the Music” feature from VH1. There are no tawdry gossips or talking heads (except from Celine’s). Rather, “I Am” shows a side of Dion the diva that is rarely seen: her at home without makeup, surrounded by her children and her close-knit crew. Dion revealed in December 2022 that she had Stiff Person Syndrome, an extremely unusual ailment that only affects one or two individuals per million.
In a recorded early interview, a modestly self-assured Dion says to the camera, “My dream is to be an international star and to be able to sing all my life.” Is there a young TikToker nowadays who does not fervently aspire to the same thing? It is, however, heartbreaking to learn that Celine, who has now experienced greater success than the awkward, slightly horsey-looking teen could have ever dreamed of, has had it wrenched away by an unjust affliction that is every bit as cruel as Beethoven’s loss of hearing. This affliction prevents Celine from singing.
“I Am,” like everything Celine Dion does, is so genuine and intimate, yet it also manages to be exact to the last detail. Dion may not have given Taylor complete creative authority, but it seems as though the director didn’t want to include anything that her subject wouldn’t find acceptable. It must have been challenging enough for Dion to reveal to her fans how SPS affected her voice and life.
Celine is a born performer (as well as a good-humored ham), so her illness affects more than just her amphitheater-filling public image. She can scarcely hold a conversation without breaking into song.
She has been without that outlet for more than two years, and her admirers have been left without their power goddess, with just an enigmatic diagnosis to go along with a slew of phony justifications that suddenly seem plausible, ranging from technical issues to sinus and throat illnesses.
With each soul-resonating performance, peppered as it did with fist-pumping, chest-thumping embellishments, Dion offered fans more of herself than was acceptable. Taylor showcases career-spanning montages as well as extensive excerpts from spectacular individual concerts to illustrate off this. Her dance read as beautiful and angular, which made the discovery of the “stiff person” all the more distressing. It was so cheesy, yet so serious. Had we been missing something that had been concealed in the majority of us who were unaware of the disorder?
The song “I Am” has fewer Dion songs than you might think because composer (and cellist) Redi Hasa’s more contemplative score fits the tone Taylor is going for better than the lyric ballads on the album. However, some of the songs, like “All by Myself,” are very powerful coming from the now-widowed chanteuse. The entire movie has a contemplative atmosphere, with Hasa’s Max Richter-inspired string score complementing the languid pacing of Dion’s speech. After all, she is a skilled performer who knows how to arouse an audience. Even yet, we accept her statement that “The person I am today…” clarifies the meaning of the movie’s title. I’m not a creation of mine. I am not my own creation. I am.
How unguarded is everything that Taylor photographs? Certain scenes at her stylishly opulent Vegas residence seem obviously unrehearsed, such as when Celine spends time with her adolescent twin kids. However, Taylor displays how well-organized her life is: a workstation with Sharpie markers thoughtfully placed; a warehouse filled with her shoes, dresses, and mementos; and so on. Celine returns to vacuum the sofa after a heartwarming moment in which she and the twins record a get-well message for a sick team member. However, she also makes a strong impression with comedy, both off-screen and in private (see the Deadpool, James Corden, and Jimmy Fallon video).
Though such characteristics couldn’t be further from the personality Taylor captures, the term “diva” sometimes suggests self-centered, even temperamental celebrity behavior, which undoubtedly applies to Dion. While “I Am” is more akin to last year’s “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie,” French actor-director Valérie Lemercier’s campy, lovingly dramatized “Aline” went further into Dion’s psychology and the effects of her connection with René. That is to say, both documentaries highlight the resiliency of their protagonists by showcasing painful and vulnerable moments that, in our stigmatized media culture, appear brave.
In “Love Again,” the supermodel performed as herself. However, she plays Celine Dion in “I Am.” She’s even more powerful than we thought, it turns out. That’s not all, though. As I listened to her songs again in the days before the documentary came out, I saw something distinct from the various ways she managed to convey passionate love: something I would characterize as thankfulness. Throughout the documentary, Celine Dion’s affection for her band, crew, backing vocalists, and fans is evident, as is another aspect of her unique personality.
Since her infirmity has made her even more grateful, Dion doesn’t appear to take anything for granted. I’m sure most viewers would agree: We are too.
