Without the hype, 'This Is It' is a gritty portrait of Michael Jackson

November 5, 8:36 AMBeatles ExaminerSteve Marinucci

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  The movie poster for Michael Jackson's "This is It" film.
  (AP Photo/Sony Pictures) reading the title "This Is It"J
 

 When the title of Michael Jackson's series of London concerts -- "This Is It" -- was announced, you could hear the hype machine already in full gear.

With Jackson's death in June, the title has taken on a more somber meaning. And the announcement that a film would be assembled from rehearsal footage immediately gave rise to the idea that the film would be a slick documentary of the shows that never happened. 

Surprisingly, that's not true. "This Is It" is a side of Michael Jackson fans have never seen. Though the film begins with some emotional and sometimes tearful recollections from a few members of the show's cast, the bulk of the film displays Jackson the artist and the craftsman without the "Wacko Jacko" persona.

Most of the footage shown is the show in the latter stages of development, so the real nitty-gritty evolution of the show from the very beginning isn't there to see. But what is there is a stripped down version of the eventual shows.

Would the Jackson concerts have been the singer resting on his past successes or was there some real effort put into the shows? "This Is It" wants you to believe the latter. With the special effects on numbers like "Thriller," the quality of the band assembled to play at the shows and Jackson's own direction of it, from all appearances, these look like they would have been pretty spectacular. 

Jackson himself seemed to be holding up pretty well. The incredible acrobatic dance moves are at a minimum in the movie, but he seemed to have the energy at age 50 to do the series of shows. A few times in the rehearsal footage, however, he clearly holds back his vocals to save his throat.

Even with the gritty nature of "This Is It," you won't see Jackson doing much playful joking around or talking about anything unrelated to the show. This is the "all work and no play" Michael Jackson.  And despite the tragic circumstances that made "This Is It" what it is, it's a very upbeat film. Also, this is no "Let It Be" -- there are no conflicts here. Michael is clearly the boss and everyone is happy with that arrangement.

The real purpose of "This Is It," though, is to point out what fans would have missed in the London shows. It's almost certain that the eventual official tour film wouldn't have been this gritty.

But it probably wouldn't have been nearly as good and would have been filled with a lot of Michael worship and fawning. The real meaning of the movie title of "This Is It" is the talent of Michael Jackson that is the focus of the film. The myth of Michael Jackson is all but stripped away thanks to this film.

It's too bad it took his death for such a clearer view to happen.

• More Examiner.com coverage of Michael Jackson