If you are a fan of Billie Eilish, I cannot see you being disappointed with the recent documentary called The World is a Little Blurry. Far from being blurry, this film has a very deep and personal look at the life of Billie over the formative years of the young star’s life.
The camera takes us behind the scenes into her brother’s bedroom and gives us an intimate view into the recording process of songs and the act of their very creation and their inspiration. We see Billie and Finneas running through lines and rehearsing lyrics and the very creation of the words that are to become a finished song. This look at the artistic endeavor is invaluable and allows us as an audience to have a very personal look into the creative process of songwriters that we simply would not get otherwise. I found it to be personally rewarding as a creative person myself to see how easily and with practice, lines that have become famous in songs were first birthed and created. I have to say that this behind the scenes look at the creative process was one of the best parts of the documentary for me.
We see Billie’s family up close and personal, and we encounter a mother that hovers and is an intimate part of everything that Billie gets up to and is part of. Her mother is around as she creates songs, as she has meals, as she travels around the world and is there before and after her appearances on stage. We see very clearly in this film that Billie is not going to be afforded the “luxury” of drug or alcohol abuse as the closeness of her mother and father in everything that she does simply would not allow it to happen.
For her fans who have a deep understanding of her music and a great appreciation of her songs, you will be impressed with how many songs are shown in this film and her live appearances at concerts. What I found to be disturbing were Billie’s injuries and the toll that dancing on stage has on her very fragile body. I had my heart in my throat when the film captured Billie sustaining a broken ankle in one of her performances and then returning to the stage to sing whilst seated. What really impressed me was the energy that Billie puts into her performances and her desire to put on a great show every time for her fans.
As we observe Billie and listen to her, we come to the understanding that Billie really loves her fans and only wants the very best for them, whether that is putting on the best show or meeting them face to face and touching them, and hugging the lucky few. Billie does not want to be a faraway star who cannot be up close and personal to her fans and we come to appreciate that in this poignant look at the star and her makeup.
