'Elton John: Never Too Late' Review: An Exquisite Documentary on an Iconic Artist | TIFF 2024
By Jason Gorber
September 21, 2024
Few artists have had as lasting a legacy in popular music as the man born Reginald Kenneth Dwight. From doing demo recordings for the likes of Nick Drake to backing up artists touring soul artists like Patti LaBelle, the gawky keyboard player soon took his new name from his band Bluesology saxman Elton Dean, and the first name of Long John Baldry with whom his band was often backing up, giving us the icon we know today as Elton John. Under the Dick James publishing banner he would be serendipitously paired with a neophyte lyricist named Bernie Taupin, and soon the so-called Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy would rule the world of pop.
Elton John’s story has been told in multiple ways, including the wonderful re-imagining that is 2019’s Rocketman, as well as his recently published autobiography titled Me (an absolute must-listen in audiobook form, read in part by Elton with the rest by his cinematic avatar, Taron Egerton). Elton John: Never Too Late, the documentary directed by R.J. Cutler (The War Room) and Elton’s husband David Furnish, serves as a bridge of sorts for these two projects, using interviews conducted for the book as the basis for voiceover narration, and touching upon some of the biographical elements that were twisted in wonderful ways in the fictional retelling.
Naturally, the concern of any authorized rock doc like this is that we’re going to get a watered-down version of events scrubbed of most of the sordid details, or, perhaps worse, a simple rehashing of information even casual fans already know. Thankfully, while the focus understandably is on the incredible run of his 1970s recordings, the tale of his rise to superstardom is supported directly by his years-long farewell tour, counting down days to his North American sign-off show at L.A.’s Dodger Stadium, which, almost five decades earlier, was where he closed one of his most successful periods. There have been a slew of other Elton John docs that have touched upon these events, but none with quite the same level of care and craft. While a shout-out to the exemplary “Classic Albums: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is mandated here, few of the other films did more than superficial dives into these days, while others spent more time on the salacious, tabloidy elements.
Furnish’s involvement could easily be a red flag, thinking the husband is there to preserve a clean legacy, but that would be unfair both to his storytelling skills as well as those of his celebrated collaborator. While Rocketman touches upon the truly dark moments, and Me goes into even deeper, self-reflective expressions of remorse, this doc remains focussed on the music, only touching upon these more unsettling behaviors when they directly affected the man himself as well as his artistry. Above all, everything from the success to the self-loathing is contextualized at a time and place, from the behavior of his parents, his anxieties over his closeted feelings, or even his famous penchant for excess; the wild costumes and bigger-than-life onstage personality masking self-doubt, only to be overcome for decades thanks to copious amounts of cocaine and alcohol.
Never Too Late gets its title from the Tim Rice-penned lyrics of the 2019 live-action Lion King, and it’s perhaps surprising to some that the massive success he found in his later decades, both in the recording studio and on Broadway and the big screen, are absent in this telling. Naturally, a comprehensive film that documents his hit-making over six decades would be extraordinary. While hints of recent collaborations with the likes of Dua Lipa are shown, there are dozens of recordings that do not even merit mention. What’s at focus here is the core of what made Elton Elton, what led him to play for over 100,000 back in 1975 in that L.A. stadium, how that was almost taken away forever, and how, as implausibly as it may have seemed at the time, he’s still around to take center stage.
For those who only know Elton through the hits, they’re in for a treat, with some excellent deeper tracks scattered throughout. For those who know him more for his later songs, or perhaps even for the likes of the Diana-redux of “Candle in the Wind,” they’ll witness EJ at his prime. For devout fans, there are some rare recordings and visuals that are unique to this telling (and, for this fan, demanding an official release in their complete form). For any lover of music, be they in the Elton camp or not, there’s much to admire not only about his prodigious talents and the enthralling live performances but equally to appreciate what an almost mythic tale this is, the burdens and benefits of successes placed on the shoulders of this one reluctant Reg.
We are treated to a contemporary visit to the Troubadour, the L.A. landmark club where he first launched his career on American shores, as he visits with David and their children. Sitting there by the stage, the space looks almost comically tiny, impossible to think how those iconic shows could be contained in such a space. It’s almost impossible to even imagine being there to catch this nascent performer making his first steps to superstardom, the likes of Neil Diamond, Leon Russel, and Neil Young craning to see this latest invader from Britain grabbing the crowd by the throat, there to witness the true beginning of Elton’s meteoric rise.
Elton John: Never Too Late feels like the definitive authorized film biography, and plugs a very important hole in telling his story in honest yet compelling ways. By granting access to the archive without restriction, we dive deeply in to the music, and the interviews capture the man at his most accessible and articulate moments of both doubt and joy. With charming animated sequences, plenty of montages and the excuse to hear some amazing music, it’s a film worthy of its subject.
Rocketman, through its fictive lens, may be the better mode to understand how it felt to be at the center of the whirlwind, and the Me biography gives us many more details right through to the present day. However, Never Too Late provides a more linear, more focussed, but no less worthy reflection upon this legendary artist’s career. It’s never too late to take time to be introduced to Elton, and with this film, older fans will be reminded of what tremendous talent he continues to display, and for new fans, they’re in for a life-changing experience of potent musical discovery.
Elton John: Never Too Late had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. If will have a limited theatrical run from November 15 before premiering on Disney+ on December 13.
