Nothing Compares

Originally premiered back at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. As if writing now, I can't believe I missed this one when I attended the virtual festival back in January 2022.

Nothing Compares is directed by Kathryn Ferguson and it's a story about the five year period of singer and songwriter Sinead O'Connor and all the things happening to her around that time period. I had recently enjoyed some of her songs and her musical style. I really like her song Nothing Compares 2 U, Mandinka, and so on and so on. This documentary is really well informed and has really interesting editing choices. Ferguson includes voice overs from various people who knew O'Connor and O'Connor herself while presenting old footage and creative made up scenes to capture the tone of O'Connor's career, past life, and the controversial times she was in. It doesn't just focus on her music but it also explores about her past trauma with the Catholic church, her parents, politics, religion and many others aspects. Because of these topics, it really helped to sell this documentary to heart and becomes really touching.

Very informative and emotional at times. I knew about Sinead O'Connor before seeing this documentary and reading and listening about her experiences and troubles she was facing, I really do feel bad for her at times especially some of the more recent events that had happened to her. I was able to connect with this documentary very well and learned a lot more then I expected it. Surprisingly, there were some fault with the sound design as some moments felt they had a weird echoing effect in the back ground. Strangely, the main song "Nothing Compares 2 U" didn't appear in this documentary due to copyright issues I have to assume. Weird, but it felt missing.

Overall, a really well informed and at times depressing documentary about Sinead O'Connor.

Rating: A-

Being ahead of one's time can be a dual-edged sword. On the plus side, it can get you noticed. And, on the downside, it can get you noticed, but not necessarily in a positive light. Such was the experience of Irish pop star Sinead O'Connor, who exploded on the music scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The musical sensation became known for one of the most distinctive set of pipes in the business, with an ability to jump octaves in a single bound and to be able to go from a soft whisper to a banshee scream at the drop of a hat. But, as director Kathryn Ferguson's new Showtime documentary illustrates, O'Connor underwent a fall from grace that unfolded almost as quickly as her stratospheric rise, a change driven by a string of unpopular public protests against the Roman Catholic Church, American and Irish government policies, and cultural practices that ran afoul of her views about militarism, abortion rights and other hot button issues. She became a pariah, unable to get airplay for her new music and even facing death threats. Her gestures were seen as acts of career suicide, none of which fazed her, given that she couldn't in good conscience stay silent. But, as she faded into obscurity, her views gained ground, eventually leading to changes in line with those opinions. Indeed, she truly was ahead of her time, and this film examines that history in detail through archive footage, interviews with the artist and observations from those who knew her during her meteoric rise, her subsequent fall and her resurgence as both a performer and social activist. And, as the film capably shows, in the end, nothing truly compares to her.

This documentary is worth a view if you respect Sinead as an artist, grew up in her heydays, or take an interest in the history of feminism and women's rights.

I have always liked Sineads music a lot, and have been interested to learn more about the music she made in those mysterious years after her 'cancellation' by conservative voices following her tearing up the picture of pope JP II during het performance at Saturday Night Live.

Unfortunately, that scene from the nineties is the end of this movie, so the desire to learn more of the much less documented later period stays undocumented.

The movie mainly focuses on her youth, rise to fame and her heydays and her downfall, the latter two of which are all too familiar subjects already. The other two parts (youth & rise) are interesting, also as a context for what would follow later, as they explain well how Sineads activist side grew.

As is the case with the music of the last.30 years, her life of those years is also missing from this documentary. Conversion to Islam, rumored lesbianism and the very sad death of her son recently are not here, and that's a journalistic choice that can only be respected.

However, there would be a lot of years & material left for a sequel to this documentary, describing the years post 1992. Maybe less commercially viable, but I'd watch it!

Finally, I've always respected Sinead as an artist and as a human, and this documentary has further solidified that image of her. A troubled mind, but a wonderful principled and sincere person - and a unique artist.

I first heard Sinead here in NY on WLIR-FM in 1987 with the release of her first album, "The Lion on and the Cobra." She was also played on college radio and it wasn't until the Prince song, "Nothing Compares to You" that she became a rock star. The film shows the incident when she would not allow the National Anthem to be played before a concert and its repercussions. Later, while appearing on SNL, she tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II and, excuse me, all hell broke loose. As a struggling Catholic, I was not offended by the gesture and history has proven her to be accurate after the many molestation cases came to light with the cover ups by the Vatican. I only wished for more and longer segments of her music. Her voice is magical and this film a gritty and honest portrayal of her life.

As "Nothing Compares" (2022 release; 95 min.) opens, Sinead O'Connor is announced at some show and upon hitting the stage, she is widely booed by much of the arena. We then go back in time, and in a voice-over, Sinead tells us that "I got into music as therapy" and how she was suffered from an abusive mom for years... At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the documentary,

Couple of comments: this is the feature length debut of writer-director Kathryn Ferguson, who previously directed Sinead's 2013 music video "4th & Vine". Here she reassesses the rise and fall of the fiercely independent and non-conformist Irish singer. All of the hot topics are examined including the infamous SNL scene exactly 30 years ago this month where she shreds the Pope's picture (to protest against the Catholic church's sexual abuses). The bulk of the movie covers 1987 to 1993, when Sinead was only 21-27. Watch how she resists immense pressures to give in on this and that (when her music label found out she was pregnant as she recorded her debut album, they "suggested" she have an abortion--she refused). And what about the music, you might ask? Well, if you are expecting to hear "Nothing Compares 2 U", don't waste your time. Prince's estate (led his half sister Sharon Nelson) refused the use of the song in the documentary, apparently because in Sinead's 2021 memoir "Rememberings", she had some unflattering comments about Prince. Talk about being petty and small-minded, if not vindictive. But as the last 10 min. Of this wonderful and moving documentary shows, Sinead was right all along, but simply YEARS ahead of her time and hence not understood or worse. (And if you haven't read "Rememberings", I'd readily suggest you do.) Back to the documentary's opening scene: it was from Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden in late October, 1992, 3 weeks after the pope picture incident. As someone in the documentary pointedly observes: "They are at a BOB DYLAN show, what were these people thinking?" (referring to the sell-out crowd booing Sinead). Then look how Sinead handles the situation...

"Nothing Compares" premiered recently on Showtime. I watched it on the SHO streaming app last night, and I was surprised how great this documentary turned out to be. Whether you like Sinead's music or not (I'm a casual fan at best), this documentary is so much more than that, and I'd readily suggest you check it out and draw your own conclusion.