It's Only Life After All chronicles the lives and music of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, who met in grade school, began singing together in high school, and started recording in their early 20s (the late 80s). In addition to the music, the documentary covers their lifelong friendship, lesbian sexual identities, and involvement in many social justice and environmental causes. Both women are incredibly revealing and honest, especially when Emily describes her life as a recovering alcoholic and Amy opens up about her lifelong sexual identity confusion. Also poignant are their struggles to overcome discrimination in their personal lives and musical career.
A minor quibble I have with the documentary is its implication that the Indigo Girls mainly appeal to LGBTQ people. I don't have any number counts, but I know that their best songs have universal appeal and are personal anthems for me and many of my straight friends. Another quibble is that the story jumps around in time (which seems to be in vogue for documentaries now) and wastes too much time on the women hanging out at home or practicing in the studio.
Overall, the documentary is an interesting portrait of two women who have establish an enduring friendship, activist achievements, and musical legacy.
