Speaking With Director Kevin Macdonald & Pat Houston On The Emotion Doc ‘Whitney’Posted by Dominga Martin
July 3, 2018
The Explosive documentary “Whitney” spills tea on private life of icon
Oscar winning director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) gets right to it, and holds no punches when it comes to shedding light on alluded rumors about the legendary star we all know as Whitney Houston. Privately, however, family and her tight inner circle know her as “Nippy.” Kevin Macdonald takes us into the private world of “Nippy”, and I found myself wondering — did anyone need this much access to Whitney’s confidential archives?
What do we know about Whitney Houston, aside from the fact that she is one of the greatest vocalists of all time, in addition to being tabloid fodder, toward her later years? The tabloids dug and tried their best to reveal rumors that were debunked. Whitney Houston had a team that kept her personal life private — as it should be, even after death. This documentary feels like a curious seeker, digging through archival footage, looking for the big boom — everything is revealed. This expose takes viewers on the journey of a tragic story of a star who reaches the highest of heights and falls, with no one to catch her.
In an exclusive interview with Pat Houston, she was very candid, stating: “Whitney would be the first one to tell you to ‘mind your business.’”
And that is the truth,
Although editorial control was relinquished to the director, it is important to point out that Macdonold was not a mega fan of Whitney Houston, originally from Scotland — I would presume. he did not have Whitney’s first album on heavy rotation, he was not with us as we held our breath in “The Bodyguard” and he did not know how monumental the “Star Spangled Banner” (Whitney’s version) was, for the culture. He was hired for his credentials — an expert in his field, who could dig through crates (so to speak) and find a story. Yet, even he admits that it was hard to find Whitney’s voice.
“It was hard to find material that really felt like, “Ah!” That’s the real “her” and she’s letting me in,” says the Macdonald, and continues, “I would literally go through 1000’s of hours of footage to find those moments, and to find rare interviews that hadn’t ever been heard before [and] there’s a few of those scattered throughout the film.”
Whitney is one of the last superstars who came up in the machine — who understood the dynamic of a personal life vs. a public life. Who’s PR was scripted, and an image carefully manufactured. She was no reality TV star (famous for being famous) or putting on her life for “the gram”, she was a true, naturally gifted talent who knew how to separate her public life from her personal one.
This documentary juxtaposes the life of Whitney Houston, the megastar, rising quick and furious in America’s pop culture scene, with the backdrop of what made her human — the riots in Newark, drugs at 16, sex abuse and hidden family secrets. It’s very telling, raw and unflinching, Yet, there is a difference between alluding to a rumor, and confirming. WHITNEY, confirms a lot of rumors fans and tabloids often tried to expose, and I can’t help but ask myself if any of this is our business? We already know what Whitney would say.
“Whitney would’ve depended on me to do what is right, and she always did,” says Pat. “There was a trust factor there. You know, you don’t give a person the keys to the vault and tell them not to look in it.”
Macdonald interviewed almost 100 people to get to the heart of Whitney, and states many family members, including ex-husband, Bobby Brown were very hesitant with the truth, however, watching the documentary, it appeared as if Bobby was the only one still protecting her image and her memory — while family members and past employees seemed as if they were waiting to exhale and reveal secrets that were not theirs to share.
“I don’t think anyone is protecting Whitney now. I think they’re protecting themselves. I interviewed 70 people for this. I’ve never interviewed 70 people of any film and I’ve done so many films, and so many of them were very economical with the truth. So many of them just wanted to give me the usual puff kind of stuff, and I kept saying to them, ‘that’s not enough.’ We heard that.” He states, and continues. “In order for us to really understand Whitney and therefore feel more compassion for her, you need to be honest.”
Robyn Crawford, who chose not to be part of the documentary (because she’s writing her book) could not defend the long time whispers of their “relationship” which is front and center. A relative reveals he gave Whitney cocaine for her 16th birthday — clearing Bobby Brown of the rumors that he introduced her to drugs. The most tragic family secret, which Whitney never revealed when she was alive, was the secret that she and her brother Gary (Pat’s Husband) was molested by a family member.
There also was not much input about Whitney and Bobby Brown’s late daughter, Bobbi Kristina who’s love for her parents were evident, and vice versa. However, Pat makes a strong statement in the film which can be taken out of context, re: Bobbi Kristina wishing she could kill her mother without anyone knowing. Since Bobbi Kristina is no longer with us to defend herself, Pat offered context behind the statement.
“Well, when you go through as much as she has gone through, any kid would say somethings to you — a lot of kids would tell their parents, in a split second “I hate you!” but not mean it. She was going through a tough time, I think, when that was spoken. Her parents had just gotten divorced. It was difficult for her mother to have to deal with. She was just lashing out and who could blame her?”
There are so many layers to Whitney — and while this documentary seems extremely long before it finds it’s story, it is unlike the 2017 documentary “Whitney: Can I Be Me?” (Directed by Nick Broomfield) which seems to take viewers on an investigative journey from stardom to death.
In this particular film, the beauty is found in the audacity of a young black girl from the hood, who rises to pop stardom, where everyone across the world knows her name, but no one ever really knew her. We are taken on a musical journey through her number one hits as she skyrockets to the top of the world’s music charts, only to be ostracized in her own community. A big reveal was how the very vocal Reverend Al Sharpton referred to her as “Whitey Whitney” and launched an anti-blackness campaign against her — the nerve.
Whitney’s highs and lows were monumental, yet despite rumors, and accusations of a failed and tumultuous marriage, no one can ever tell this story in the way that Whitney can — and if she wanted the story told, it would have been told, with her daughter Bobbi Kristina, and those who loved her most — who cared to protect her legacy. In the end, this is a tragic Hollywood story and viewers are left feeling full on the memories, and memories are all that’s left.
“I think the thing with Whitney is that, she’s enigmatic. She’s kind of unknowable, and I think you understand by the end of the film why that is, because I think she was very confused about who she was,” says Macdonold. “And maybe you can even say, she never knew who she was.”
