Review: 'Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé'

When it comes to music, we are living in the brand generation. Every successful solo artist-from Taylor Swift to Beyonce-is much more than just their performances. Every gesture is measured, every decision carefully plotted. Not an image or a story goes out that doesn't further the cause of the brand that is the performer. These superstars aren't the careful musicians of the old days. It might have taken immense talent to get to the world stage. But now that they have arrived, they are as spontaneous with their decision-making as the people managing Pepsi or McDonald's.

"Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé" was released globally on Netflix today and after watching the documentary I find myself more torn than usual by the bifurcated nature of the film. Beyonce is magnificently talented and her historic 2018 Coachella performance that paid homage to America's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) deserves every bit of praise it receives. 

Yet I'm wary of the framing of "Homecoming" as some intimate, unguarded look behind the Beyonce brand. She's listed as the film's co-producer and director. Her production company is responsible for the film. So it seems very likely that "Homecoming" shows the Beyonce that she and her advisers want you to see. This is not a glimpse into her personal life and unvarnished creative process. It's a carefully composed look that furthers the story of her Coachella performance and her personal quest to make a statement.

And that's at the core of my angst over "Homecoming." The performance was ground-breaking and every aspect of what she and her team accomplished is creatively impressive. But I still find myself watching it all with a detachment that shouldn't be there for a project that was so personal for Beyonce and her fans. Her need to carefully stage-manage her brand strips away some of the emotional resonance of the event in a way that I find disheartening. When the documentary is over, I was left with the feeling that I had witnessed a historic event. But it was also an event that left me more impressed by the slickness of the production than with the emotions that defined it. 

"Homecoming" spends a lot of time stressing how culturally important the Coachella performance was and the point is made again and again. While I understand the need to stress that, I wish the producers had been comfortable enough to let the documentary breathe a bit. I was hoping "Homecoming" would be a documentary that would touch my soul rather than one that continuously reminded me my soul should be touched.

But maybe that's just me.