MICHAEL (in theatres)

Before all the weirdness and withering into whiteness Michael Jackson was the youngest (1958-2009) of the legendary Jackson 5 founded by their father Joseph in 1964 in Gary, Indiana. He was a tyrannically brutal, controlling, ambitious patriarch of multi-talented progeny. (Coleman Domingo’s depiction borders on demonic divinity).  Recognizing the brilliant versatility of Michael but never addicted to his voluminous notoriety I went to a screening of director Antoine Faqua (“Training Day” and “The Equalizer”) and experienced one of the most pulverizing specimens of cloning I have ever witnessed. “Michael” depicted by his nephew Jaafar Jackson (son of Michael’s brother, Jermaine) in a performance of such magnitude, lacerating the scale of Taron Egerton as Elton John in “Rocketman”, Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody”, Austin Butler in “Elvis” and the inimitable Timothee Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown” fully feigning Bob Dylan.

Jaafar is Michael. Any controversy surrounding this production is unwarranted. Watching a nephew dance, sing, perform with the overwhelming acuity of an esteemed uncle, yet to be reincarnated; it is a renaissance of remarkable style, nonpareil, diversion on a celestial level. It is the purest form of entertainment, recalling Jackson’s precipitous rise to fame, his sensitive longing for friends, devotion to family; shunning the vicissitudes of his later years; “Michael’s” focus is his desire to be solely Michael. It is a film that succeeds in soaking viewers in memory; memories of concerts of stunning girth. It is a fairytale, erasing ugly certainties, celebrating the highlights not the lowlights of an artist whose skill transcends his shifts in fortune. Audiences left with an unexperienced glee, lighter heart. What could be more appropriate?

FOUR STARS!!!!

Peneflix