I am: Review of Céline Dion: Her voice will go on

After a rare medical diagnosis, Celine Dion let cameras into her Las Vegas home when she was at her most vulnerable. Emotionally bared, Dion presents a rarely seen side of herself outside the spotlight in filmmaker Irene Taylor’s intimate portrait. I am: Celine Dionthat viewers will enjoy whether they are a fan of her or not.

After three decades of global success, the powerful Canadian singer announced in 2022 that her once incredible voice had failed her. She revealed that she had been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that causes muscle spasms and tremendous pain, leaving Dion unable to reach the three-octave range she once could. With tears in her eyes, the singer demonstrates how the disease manifests itself, explaining that it is not her lungs, but the rigidity of the chest wall muscles that keeps her voice in check.

Dion is raw and unfiltered as Oscar-nominated director Taylor documents her attempts at rehabilitation and the realization that she may never dominate the stage again. Painted in broad brushstrokes, I am: Celine Dion is less a definitive look at the singer’s rise to fame than at her life today. She is a frail woman, trapped in the gilded cage of her Las Vegas residence with her twin sons, unable to leave the house due to both her physical condition and her perceived inability to move. For Dion, fans are still top of mind as she ponders how someone would react to seeing the singer spending time with family if they had a ticket to her now-canceled concert series.

“The lie is too heavy now,” she reflects on the announcement of her diagnosis. Dion says she initially took Valium and other drugs to survive. She attributed vocal problems to technical issues or getting the crowd to sing along when she couldn’t hit the notes. But soon it became too much to hide.

Featuring home videos and archive footage from her illustrious career. I am reveals Dion’s life between pill bottles and painful seizures. Dion’s health condition may be shocking to some, with the singer granting cameras access while she lies in the grips of her illness, crippled, immobilized and carried away on a stretcher. This is a sharp contrast to the warehouse filled with glamorous costumes and the singer’s stage-commanding presence at the height of her career. Dion leads the documentary crew through her warehouse – almost a museum dedicated to herself – and muses on her elaborate sequined stage costumes, designer red carpet looks and family memorabilia carefully archived and preserved as proof of who she once was.

In her heart, Dion was and remains the young Quebec girl from a big family who desperately wanted to sing. Now she’s leaning on that desire again to drive her recovery. “If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl, but I won’t stop,” she says of her hope of singing again one day. You just can’t help but cheer her on.

I am: Celine Dion is now streaming on Prime Video Canada.

Advertising

Advertising

Advertising