Hot Docs 2023 | "Love to Love You, Donna Summer"; In-Depth Documentary or Passion Project
8/12 ForReel Score | 3/5 Stars
There is one name that comes to the top of my mind when discussing the Queen of Disco: Donna Summer. The question, however, is what gives her claim to that title? Was it her sultry vocals, pulsing rhythms, electronic synthesizers? Or was it her ability to emotionally connect with listeners all across the globe? In any case, that title - the Queen of Disco - created an idealistic picture of who Donna Summer truly is. Directors Brooklyn Sudano (Cruel Summer) and Roger Ross Williams (Cassandro) set out to tell the world about the woman behind the title with their new documentary, Love to Love You, Donna Summer. From interviews with those closest to her, they shed light on her struggles with her faith, sexuality, and mental health. Audiences also get a glimpse into her strength, talent, and love of life.
The film opens with a close-up shot of Summer's most distinctive feature, her eyes. With their elegant draw, they light up the screen, enticing the viewer into her world. Cut to a performance of the aforenamed documentary, Love to Love You Baby. It demonstrates her expressiveness and transformative ability as a performer. In front of an audience, she would light up, as if her soul would expand beyond her body and mesmerize every last person in the room. Even as a child, Summer knew her power. She knew she’d be famous.
In 1967, just weeks before graduation, Summer left for New York City. Within a year she was cast in the counterculture musical Hair as Sheila and off to perform in Munich, Germany. At just 19 years of age, she perfected this effervescent sexual character that drew people to her, when in fact she was quite shy. Three years later, she moved to Austria and pursued a music career. By 1975, her demo for Love to Love You caught the attention of music promoter Neil Bogart. They released a 17 minute version of the song and it hit the queer disco clubs like a wildfire. According to the BBC, the song contained 23 "orgasms".
The documentary is a poetic non-narrative documentary. The editing felt theatrical and at times ethereal, intermixing old concert footage, VHS tapes, and phone interviews. There’s an added level of heart as one of Summer’s daughters, Brooklyn Sudano, co-directed the film. It effectively captures the feeling of being lost and overwhelmed by her mother's legacy and acts as a late love letter to her. That said, the film doesn’t work 100% of the time. Half way through the documentary, it severs itself from the audience. The film turns into more of a personal puzzle, trying to piece together her mother’s private life, constantly contradicting itself or shadowing information for the remainder of the runtime.
Sudano and Williams try their best to round out Summer's life and give a behind-the-scenes look into her inspirations. Reflected in the glimpse into the music that influenced her like psychedelic rock singer Janis Joplin or her lesser known love of painting. There is a heavy focus on her artistic endeavors but the film struggles to get a sense of depth. Her early life is quickly glossed over, in favor of putting greater focus on the height of her disco era. Towards the end of the film, there’s a slight mention of her conversion to evangelical Christianity before they passively try to rationalize Summer’s infamous homophobic comment. Then it jumps forward to the end of her life, and abruptly ends.
Love to Love You, Donna Summer is clearly well-intentioned, but falls short of fulfilling anything in depth beyond her legacy. The film is strongest when it focuses on Summer's music and her creative process. It clarifies, for the most part, who is the Queen of Disco and how she redefined the genre. The documentary is an enjoyable watch for fans of disco music and anyone interested in learning more about the life and career of this groundbreaking artist. While it could have used another pass in the editing process, the material is there and is ever so fruitful.
Acting and Casting - 1 | Visual Effects and Editing - 2 | Story and Message - 1| Entertainment Value - 1 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 2| Reviewer's Preference -1 | What does this mean?