It's disappointing, how this promising Netflix documentary about Taylor Swift is nothing but a painfully surface-level mix of repetitive footage that ranges from her fame and success, to her songwriting process, to archival footage of news reports about her, to interviews with her that, even when combined, are less informative than a magazine cover story. There are thoughtful ideas here scattered around, but they are never connected strongly enough.
What bugged me about Miss Americana is its insistence to show us how much bad press Swift has been getting throughout the years. The negativity surrounding Swift is a great point for this so-called "revealing" documentary to explore, but all of that is reduced to clickbait news headlines being smashed in front of our faces. It was not pleasant to have to sit through all the problematic incidents and annoyances she experienced. Those are better off without being discussed and mentioned repeatedly.
The fairly large section involving politics is well-intentioned but forced. This is another example of director Lana Wilson not having a strong enough connection to the themes of her film. It's admirable what Swift has done to use her voice for advocacy. If only the political material here was used on a better occasion.
We are back to her songwriting process again, with seemingly endless footage from the recording studio, with her producers, discussing albums and songs. Fans will no doubt find these rewarding like they will with the entire film. But the thing is, Taylor Swift is a really interesting person. She deserves a documentary with a clearer focus and more compelling statements. This one is barely serviceable.
What bugged me about Miss Americana is its insistence to show us how much bad press Swift has been getting throughout the years. The negativity surrounding Swift is a great point for this so-called "revealing" documentary to explore, but all of that is reduced to clickbait news headlines being smashed in front of our faces. It was not pleasant to have to sit through all the problematic incidents and annoyances she experienced. Those are better off without being discussed and mentioned repeatedly.
The fairly large section involving politics is well-intentioned but forced. This is another example of director Lana Wilson not having a strong enough connection to the themes of her film. It's admirable what Swift has done to use her voice for advocacy. If only the political material here was used on a better occasion.
We are back to her songwriting process again, with seemingly endless footage from the recording studio, with her producers, discussing albums and songs. Fans will no doubt find these rewarding like they will with the entire film. But the thing is, Taylor Swift is a really interesting person. She deserves a documentary with a clearer focus and more compelling statements. This one is barely serviceable.