I Am: Celine Dion – a 'raw, heartbreaking and deeply moving' documentary
Prime Video's film chronicles the singer's 17-year battle with stiff person syndrome

It's standard procedure for showbiz documentaries to claim audiences will "never have seen their star like this before". In the case of "I Am: Celine Dion", "it is actually true", said Neil McCormick in The Telegraph.
Prime Video's film chronicles Dion's 17-year battle with stiff person syndrome – a rare neurological disorder that causes stiffness and painful muscle spasms. Perhaps worst of all for "one of the most technically gifted singers of our time", is the devastating impact the chronic condition can have on the voice.
The "Queen of Power Ballads" is seen in the throes of a "full-blown existential crisis" as she struggles to come to terms with the implications of the illness. Forgoing her usual glam attire, the Dion we see is make-up free with "granny glasses" and a bun, "wobbling precariously between denial, despair and defiance" that the "version of her life and self" as a singer is over.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Directed by Oscar-nominated documentary-maker Irene Taylor, "I Am: Celine Dion" brings together archival material spanning the star's four-decade career, with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage dating back to 2021 when she was forced to cancel her Las Vegas residency.
This isn't your average "vanity project" deceptively palmed off as a documentary, said Suzannah Ramsdale in the London Evening Standard. It is a "raw, heartbreaking and deeply moving" glimpse into the isolated life of an exceptionally talented singer "cut down in her prime".
The film's starkest and "most shocking" insight into Dion's condition is an almost 10-minute "unvarnished" recording of the Canadian singer experiencing an agonising spasm. "At the risk of being cliche", said Adrian Horton in The Guardian, the only word that sprang to mind when watching Dion consent "via grunt" to being filmed when she is being immobilised by a seizure is "brave".
There are lighter moments, said McCormick in The Telegraph. During an "amusing monologue about fashion fetishism", Dion tours her 12,000-sq-ft warehouse where she keeps all of her couture outfits, shoes and trinkets in a "perfectly maintained museum to herself".
It's all very "personal and sincere", said Peter Debruge in Variety, but it's also "managed to within an inch of its life"; you get the feeling that Taylor didn't want to include anything "her subject didn't approve of". Still, she creates a "moving portrait" of the singer, peppered with "clearly unrehearsed" moments that capture Dion's humour and warmth.
All in all, said Lovia Gyarkye in The Hollywood Reporter, the film is "as much about the singer" as the realities of living with a chronic illness. The "visceral glimpse" into her pain offers a "jolting reminder" of the impact the condition has had on Dion, "not just as a star, but as a person".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Irenie Forshaw is a features writer at The Week, covering arts, culture and travel. She began her career in journalism at Leeds University, where she wrote for the student newspaper, The Gryphon, before working at The Guardian and The New Statesman Group. Irenie then became a senior writer at Elite Traveler, where she oversaw The Experts column.
-
Scottish hospitality shines at these 7 hotels
The Week Recommends Sleep well at these lovely inns across Scotland
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
7 ways to drink spectacularly across the United States this spring
The Week Recommends A bar for every springtime occasion
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
6 welcoming recipes for cooking and baking during your spring days
The Week Recommends You want it flavorful, and you want it exciting
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Spring's best new cookbooks, from pizza to pastries
The Week Recommends Pizza, an array of brownies and Cantonese-American mash-ups are on the menu
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Music reviews: Playboi Carti, Charley Crockett, and Throwing Muses
feature “Music,” “Lonesome Drifter,” and “Moonlight Concessions”
By The Week US Published
-
10 upcoming albums to stream in the hazy spring
The Week Recommends Ring in the end of the cold weather with some new music
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Video games to play this spring, including 'Split Fiction' and 'South of Midnight'
The Week Recommends A meta co-op game puts you in a game within a game, and a life simulator that can compete with the 'Sims' franchise
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
7 new and long-established musicals to see on tour this spring
The Week Recommends Even 'Les Misérables' is back on the road
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published