Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry

In ordinary circumstances, I probably wouldn't have watched this. Though I like Billie when I've seen her interviewed previously, I'm not really a fan of the style of music she does. That said I enjoyed (though that sometimes "enjoyed" is slightly the wrong word) the film.

Split into two halves, the documentary follows the singer Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell as they produce her debut album "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go". Her increased profile along with the immediate success of the album see her perform at the Cochella festival. The second half sees the stresses that touring the album has on her physical and mental wellbeing, before finishing with the albums sweeping success at the Grammy awards.

A documentary like this is entirely reliant on the access that the family are willing to provide the filmmakers and here they were allowed to see a lot of personal candid moments at home and footage from the kids growing up. Our central pair mess around trying to write the album, we see the breakdown of Billie's relationship with her boyfriend, lots of footage of the physical damage that Billie's high voltage performances have on her body, the mental stresses of travel and meeting randoms and trying to be earnest with people without spending every minute of your time hugging fans.

It's sad at times, and stressful, as you can see that she hasn't always been emotionally well at points in her life and the amount of stress that we put on performers, particularly in an age of social media, is something we really need to address. There's a lot of time spent with her parents, who homeschooled both their children and encouraged an interest in art, dance and music and who, at times, seem rightly worried about what the world, and in particularly, this world of musical acclaim, might do to their daughter.

Away from the specifics of the subject matter, the access that the filmmakers were given and the small narratives that manged to be pulled from several years of footage makes for an interesting and rewarding documentary.

I'm equal parts too old to empathize with this personally and yet 100% convinced that Billie rules. Much like her music, this is an endlessly compelling documentary whose intimacy makes you feel like you're watching a friend. It's a cliched comparison in pop music, but there's a Cobain-esque quality to her, particularly in her wrestling with pop iconography. That comparison is unsettling (seeing how Cobain's life ended), but this immersive everyday epic is far too committed to the moment to be that pessimistic.

Never have I listened to a song by Billie Eilish, I've never really cared for her music personally, I've seen a handful of small clips from her online, and of course watched those Grammy awards but that's about all I knew about her. I also tend to not like docs about artists who are still alive today, I always feel like they're pretty one sided and don't tell a full story. But damn, this really made me appreciate her as an artist. This doc really gives you a feel for her a person, as a sibling, as a friend, and as an artist. All the ups and downs are here. It never feels one sided or feels like it pushes false truths. It's very raw, it's heartfelt, and you get some great insight behind the scenes. Coming from someone who's never listened to Billie their whole life, this doc is great for those like me, and i'm sure even better for her millions of super fans.

Amazing documentary ... It was a little long though.

Billie Eilish is navigating life as a superstar. She's a BRILLIANT performer, writer and director. She's infinitely compassionate and completely dedicated to her craft, fans, and family. She's also an INCREDIBLY complex, insecure young woman enduring tremendous physical and emotional pain. She also happens to still live at home with her Mom and Dad, JUST like a "normal" teenager. Aside from touring the globe and being pursued by paparazzi and flocked fans to whom she is SO generous, on any given day, she could be just another Justin Bieber adoring fan, BUT she isn't, and this glimpse into how she handles this life is BRILLIANT. A must see look at an AMAZING young woman and her family.

It's refreshing to find an artist that is truly authentic, has genuine talent, and despite reluctance, fatigue, and the pressure of having to go on in spite of how she may feel, goes on and on. I always been impressed by how much of herself is on display. She has near total control of her image. She isn't being pushed into a corner by style gurus and managers, and when she does get pushed she pushes back and they listen.

What we have here is an unapologetic eye on her world, the creative process, the ups, the downs, and all the bits in the middle. She's unapologetic about her openness, and that she doesn't have a team of songwriters makes her music all the more special. And it is special, Finneas and Billie O'Connell represent a serious threat to homogeny that is modern pop music, and I'm not sure this is all pop music anyway. Baring one's soul is not in keeping with today's twee world of obvious party lyrics. There's a depth to the lyrics that makes them accessible in a number of ways.

The documentary was well done, and every bit as informative as any we've seen without the need for a narrator or a narrative. It's just Billie and Finneas, raw and mostly unedited. The support they both receive from their parents is lovely to see. I only recently learned that Billie is two weeks older than my daughter, and it was then that I could see some of the parallels of what she is going through. Her mother said it best. It's easy to ignore or write off what our kids are saying, but we can never know their difficulties or their pain points. They're growing up in a totally different world to the one I experienced at that age. It's always going to be difficult, but there's a lot more exposure to everything now. Maybe it's a part of evolution, too. I don't know. I just saw some spooky parallels and heard Billie saying some stuff that I recognize from being around my own kid.

Nevertheless, while I'm not what you would call a fan, as someone who dabbles with music, music production, and understands a fair bit about the process of songwriting and production, I take my hat off to these two. They make it seem effortless.