MOVIE REVIEW - Billie Eilish, James Cameron bring 3D concert film to life

NEW YORK (AP):

 Billie Eilish is levitating. Or so it seems. When the pop star first emerges on screen in Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), she is suspended above a cube built of LED screens, surrounded by a sold-out crowd of over 23,000 fans in the centre of the UK's largest arena — Manchester's Co-op Live. She launches into the midtempo Chihiro, a house experiment from her latest album, and the 3D magic begins. In the contemporary pop music landscape, Eilish is a rulebreaker, and so is this work.

The new concert film, co-directed by Eilish and three-time Academy Award winner James Cameron, was his idea. Cameron emailed Eilish’s mother, Maggie Baird — a friend of his wife through their shared interest in plant-based diets and environmentalism — and suggested that they shoot Eilish’s tour in 3D.

For Cameron, it is familiar yet uncharted territory. While his production company has worked on concert films—including one with Billie Eilish’s musical hero Justin Bieber—he hasn’t directed a project like this before. The 3D format adds technical complexity, a space Cameron thrives in, given his work on the Avatar franchise, and as industry outliers, the pairing proves successful.

Eilish, too, is no stranger to film: She is the subject of the 2021 documentary, Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry, and a concert film released that same year, Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles. This, however, is her first time co-directing a feature. And where The World's a Little Blurry served as a composite of her come-up and various successes, Hit Me Hard and Soft is dedicated to the concert film format while pushing its boundaries.

While no movie can serve as the perfect replica of a transformative live music experience, this film works an immersive magic. Every seat is the best seat in the house in these shots. Common issues with concert films find solutions. Audience members are celebrated like additional characters. When the camera is on them, their voices are heard loud — sniffling, screams, cheers, off-key sing-alongs get their shine, sometimes above Eilish in the mix, mimicking the experience of swaying in the crowd.

In 3D, her minimalist set is given a visceral tangibility. Fans see Eilish jump through trap doors, hook into safety harnesses, chug water, dance off-screen, become teary-eyed and embrace her bandmates. At nearly two hours of runtime, it passes like zephyr, a thrill ride so fun it feels too short.

The film offers fans rare access to Eilish backstage and beneath the stage, even revisiting the tour’s opening from her perspective. At times, Cameron appears with her as she co-directs, adding an intimate, behind-the-scenes layer within the film itself. The result is a compelling experience that reflects a strong understanding of pop audiences, where accessibility is key.

"You're like a tuning fork," Cameron says to Eilish in one scene. "And they're hitting the same beats."

There is little narrativising, which often ruins a fine film, turning it into a vanity project. Eilish is shown backstage, strengthening her ankle after suffering a sprain, mostly to highlight the physicality of her performance. In another, she plays with puppies, a brief reminder of her animal rights activism. They're welcome breaks, but not totally memorable. The strength of the film is Eilish on stage, not in its interview interludes.

For years, Eilish has chosen to perform solo on stage. In this movie, fans will learn that it is because she has long wanted to mimic a hip-hop performance, where a rapper can command a stage with just a microphone, the strength of their songs and charisma. "I just wanted the freedom of being a guy running around," she tells Cameron. The performance that follows is Bury a Friend from her first record. The only place where the structure falters is in a candid conversation about desirability and femininity, followed by the Oscar-winning Barbie theme What Was I Made For? Other songs in Eilish's discography would've driven the point home with more subtlety and acuity.

But the moment comes and goes. What is left are big songs and bigger emotions. 

Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), a Paramount Pictures release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association. 

Running time: 114 minutes. 

Rating: Three stars out of four.