I'd been meaning to watch this for a few years and finally did so. I'm not a huge Paul Williams fan but I do like some of the songs he wrote and I'm always interested in stories about creative people, their lives, creative process, career arc, "behind the scenes" glimpses into what resides behind reputations and hype.
This movie veers between an illuminating look into a.very interesting person and career, and an examination of a sometimes uncomfortable relationship between documentarian and subject. The director is very awkward, pushy, intrusive and insensitive at times but the dynamic between he and Williams is of interest (when it isn't off putting).
One thing that did strike me as being a bit disingenuous is that it neglects to mention the part that other songwriters and composers played in most of Paul Williams' best known songs. Williams was chiefly a lyricist while the music was written by others, mainly Roger Nichols and. Tony Asher. I'm not trying to diminish Mr. Williams in any way...he is a considerable talent and a worthy subject who deserves to have his story told, but this aspect of his career is subject to hagiography here.
This movie veers between an illuminating look into a.very interesting person and career, and an examination of a sometimes uncomfortable relationship between documentarian and subject. The director is very awkward, pushy, intrusive and insensitive at times but the dynamic between he and Williams is of interest (when it isn't off putting).
One thing that did strike me as being a bit disingenuous is that it neglects to mention the part that other songwriters and composers played in most of Paul Williams' best known songs. Williams was chiefly a lyricist while the music was written by others, mainly Roger Nichols and. Tony Asher. I'm not trying to diminish Mr. Williams in any way...he is a considerable talent and a worthy subject who deserves to have his story told, but this aspect of his career is subject to hagiography here.