Swerving the child abuse allegations, the new Michael Jackson film is yet another revisionist music movie in a long line. We know what\u2019s in it for their subjects. What about the viewers?<\/p>\n
As a giant glittering ferris wheel dissolves into a closeup of Michael Jackson\u2019s face, legendary producer Quincy Jones explains to him that what people want is \u201cpure escapism\u201d. Michael, a new biopic about Jackson\u2019s rise to fame directed by Antoine Fuqua, is certainly that: a fantastical greatest hits playlist scrubbed clean of the darkness that tarnished the singer\u2019s reputation. The songs, which were licensed by Sony and the Jackson estate, remain glorious, transporting and indelible.<\/p>\n
Michael is the latest addition to a new canon of authorised music biopics including films about and featuring the official music of Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley, Robbie Williams, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. The genre was revived by the success of the 2018 Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which was made with Queen\u2019s involvement and took home four Oscars and $911m at the box office. Never mind that it was dismissed by critics<\/a>; the boost it gave to the band\u2019s streaming figures<\/a> set a new precedent for hungry estate holders keen to cash in \u2013 and to control the narrative.<\/p>\n
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