A new documentary, Bowie: The Final Act, delves into the singer's later career, including the emotional impact of a scathing review that reduced him to tears. The film, directed by Jonathan Stiasny, examines Bowie's artistic journey from the 1983 Let's Dance era through to his final album Blackstar, released just two days before his death in January 2016.
The documentary does not shy away from Bowie's perceived failures, notably the formation of the rock band Tin Machine in the late 1980s. Critics were unforgiving; one review by Jon Wilde in Melody Maker called Bowie a 'poor deluded fool' and a 'fucking disgrace'. Wilde, reading the review aloud in the film, is visibly stunned by his own past disrespect and reveals that Bowie sobbed upon reading it in Switzerland.
Stiasny’s film prioritises these fallow years over more celebrated periods like the Berlin trilogy, arguing that Bowie's eventual redemption came with Blackstar. It also covers his 1973 retirement of the Ziggy Stardust persona and his 1975 soul foray Young Americans. Interviewees candidly discuss Bowie's tendency to borrow from collaborators and then move on.
The programme highlights Bowie's 2000 Glastonbury performance as a turning point, where he set aside experimental jazz-rock to deliver a stripped-down 'Life on Mars?', finally embracing his heritage status. This set the stage for Blackstar, which the film presents as a masterstroke that made sense of his entire career.
