Bianca Garner | On 21, May 2021

Director: Michael Gracey
Cast: Pink, Carey Hart, Willow Sage Hart
Certificate: 15
Where to watch P!nk: All I Know So Far: Amazon Prime

Since bursting on the scene in 1995, Pink (real name Alecia Moore) has gone on to sell over 90 million records worldwide, earning herself three Grammy awards, two Brit awards and several MTV Video Music awards. Now, 41 years old and married with two children, some may be expecting Pink to settle down. However, she has no intention of playing house. Why should she? As Pink discusses in the documentary, just because she’s a woman and a mother, she shouldn’t have to sacrifice her career. Throughout the film, she shows us that she can be a mother and a performer without losing those aspects of her identity. Pink’s job role may be a global pop star, but her struggles to balance home life with her career is something that many women can empathise with.

The film follows Pink on her Beautiful Trauma World Tour. The film features footage from the road, as well as behind-the-scenes interviews with Pink and her family members and personal material in the form of home video. Joining her on the tour is her family, comprising husband Carey Hart, daughter Willow (8) and son Jameson (2). The documentary is at its strongest when we see Pink being Alecia, the mother to two children, and watch her interact with them like any other mother. She worries about Willow’s future and frets after Jameson, who seems to be going through the “terrible twos”. It’s hard not to be moved listening to Pink describe her bond with Willow, whom she describes as a kindred spirit. As we watch the family cycle through the streets of Amsterdam, they look happy and carefree. However, life on tour is never calm and relaxed for long, and Pink has to juggle the challenges of doing a global tour.

Where the documentary falls short is the fact that it seems fixated on discussing Pink’s life in the present, and at times this is frustrating especially when she reveals aspects of her childhood and her relationship with her mother. We get the impression that Pink is still experiencing trauma (her tour is called “Beautiful Trauma World Tour” after all), but director Michael Gracey never probes or presses Pink for more details. Gracey takes a fly-on-the-wall approach to capturing the film, but that fly only seems interested in Pink and what she has to say. She’s surrounded by many people, but we never really get to know their roles and relationships to her, so they simply become figures in the background. Sometimes, the best way to get to know your subject is to allow the people who work for them to speak about them.

The film is at its most fun and energetic when Pink is performing on stage. It’s breathtaking to see the singer soaring across the crowds using wires as she belts out her songs, spinning around. The concerts are bright, loud and dazzling. On stage Pink seems to be in her element and full of life. Off stage, Pink sometimes comes across as a little pretentious as she spends her evenings lounging around in hotel suites, trying to come across as “human” and “relatable” to the camera. It’s hard to connect with her because we never get the full details of her background and struggles. Although her husband is present and does speak to the camera, he disappears into the background too, which is a shame because he is pretty much a stay-at-home dad now and it would be interesting to hear how he feels about following his wife around the globe for her career.

There are some emotional scenes that do manage to have an impact on the viewer. In her dressing room, Pink tells Carey about a letter she received from a fan who writes about how Pink’s songs helped her through a difficult period in her life, and it’s in this moment that we see just how much Pink cares about her fans. We really do get the impression that she cares a lot about others, whether it’s her daughter, her son, her husband or her fans, placing their needs above her own. Even if you’re not a fan of her music, it’s hard not to be enchanted and dazzled by Pink’s likability and charisma. Overall, while Pink: All I Know So Far is hardly memorable in terms of a music documentary, it still has enough here to keep viewers invested and is worth watching for the fantastic stage scenes alone. It’s a shame that there’s not enough substance underneath all that glitter.

 

P!nk: All I Know So Far is available to watch online on Amazon Prime Video as part of a Prime membership or a £5.99 monthly subscription.

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