This is the second documentary about Buckley (the first, "Everybody Here Wants You," was produced by the BBC in 2002), and this one is better in nearly every way.
The filmmaker has chosen to tell the story of his life and all-too-brief career mainly through his mother, Mary Guibert, and two previous partners, artist Rebecca Moore and musician Joan Wasser, which brings an intimacy that illuminates his creative spark and inner life, dreams, struggles, personality, and character beautifully, warts and all. Former bandmates and friends round out the picture of a talented, complicated artist who burned brightly and all-too-briefly. It's a must-see for anyone who appreciates his musical legacy and loves a good biographical documentary. It's appropriately detailed and quite moving. I felt myself welling up with tears more than once, as his music was a big part of my 20s. The stories and testimonies of his former partners, in particular, are touching and well done, revealing sides to him that flesh out the rock star and make him human and fragile.
But the story is occasionally and oddly incomplete. One noteworthy former girlfriend, Elizabeth Fraser (formerly of Cocteau Twins), who was a big influence on him musically and who is also famous for having sung a legendary cover of one his father's most famous songs, "Song to the Siren" (in 1983, when Jeff was just 17), is absent entirely from the narrative. Even Cocteau Twins' influence on him as a musician and singer has been excised, even though he was known to occasionally -- for fun -- cover some of their songs in his intimate Sin-é live sets. (He even recorded an unreleased sketch of a duet with Fraser of his song, "All Flowers in Time (Bend Towards the Sun)," which one can find online if you look hard enough.) Much time is spent on his love of other artists like Led Zeppelin, however.
Fraser's relationship with him, which was roughly from around 1993/1994, during his rise to fame, was not a secret -- she wrote songs about him, partially dedicated Cocteau Twins' final album to him in 1996, and co-wrote the hit Massive Attack song "Teardrop" about him following news of his death -- so who knows why all of that was left out. Even if she didn't want to be interviewed (as she had been for the BBC film), excluding her and her band entirely from his biography felt like a mistake, as it was a much less predictable musical association than Zeppelin or some of the other influences that were explored.
So, sometimes the film seemed to be aiming to craft a specific narrative rather than tell the whole story. But every good storyteller edits out something they wish they could include! I just wish this film had been just a bit more thorough, as some of what was omitted is actually rather interesting. And again, it needn't have required Fraser being on camera, but perhaps without her it simply didn't work and had to be cut.
To be sure, the film recaptures the stunning news of his untimely death in a way that feels painfully fresh, and reminds us that Buckley was a gifted artist whose loss continues to be felt -- in music, art, and not least by those who were closest to him.
"It's Never Over" is a fitting and moving tribute to Buckley's life and career.
[UPDATE: I subsequently learned that Elizabeth Fraser declined to be interviewed for this film, which is consistent with her inclination towards privacy. Too bad neither she nor Cocteaus were mentioned, but if she wasn't willing to be interviewed it might have fallen flat on screen.]
