The documentary, “It’s Never Over” by Amy Berg, premiered in late June, and was available to see in select places like Woodstock Film Festival at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY and in theaters all across New York City, where Buckley lived for some time. It talks about Buckley’s life from childhood to his untimely death. People who were close to Buckley in his life appear in the documentary, and talk about him and what he was like. That includes his mother, Mary Guibert; his bandmates and friends, Micheal Tighe and Matt Johnson; his ex-girlfriend, Rebecca Moore; and his fiancé, Joan Wasser. Berg had been trying to get this documentary in the works for a decade, but wasn’t able to due to Buckley’s mother not allowing it.
This documentary is 1 hour and 48 minutes long, featuring a never-seen-before performance that is only available to see in theaters for a limited time. The documentary was first born when Brad Pitt got in touch with Buckley’s mother. He asked about making a film revolving around Buckley. Guibert agreed to the film, but she was skeptical about Pitt starring as her son. It begins with Jeff’s mother talking about what he was like in his childhood, and how he got into music at a very young age. Guibert speaks about how Tim Buckley, Jeff’s father, left before he was even born. The film shows old clips of Jeff Buckley speaking about his experience with meeting his father for the first time at a show he was performing at. Guibert talks about how Jeff was nervous, but when they met backstage he opened up and told him about himself. Tim wanted Jeff to stay with him for a while, and Guibert hesitantly agreed. They stayed together for a week, and shortly after Jeff left, Tim died due to a drug overdose.
Buckley’s catalyst to fame was when he got the opportunity to play at his fathers memorial. St. Ann’s Church was where it was held, and they were hesitant about his abilities, but he left with several business cards and left a lasting impression. He played in bands before throughout his teenage years, but never really gained a crowd. Rebecca Moore talked about what it was like to be in a romantic relationship with Buckley. Moore speaks about how she lived with him and how she watched Buckley change, and start needing his own space to create music. Tighe and Johnson spoke about what it was like to be so close to Jeff, and to go on tour with him. The band had toured for around 2 years straight when their album “Grace” came out. They went all around the world, but “Grace” got the most traction in Europe.
The documentary talks about how Buckley was scared of losing his ability to have creative freedom if he got signed onto a record label, but, eventually, he decided to sign with Sony. Since “Grace” blew up so much, especially in Europe, Sony was pressuring Buckley to create another album. This pressure got to him, and made it difficult for him to create anything, especially with the underlying fear of losing his creative freedom. Everyone around him could tell something wasn’t right, and that he was struggling mentally. Wasser said that they now recognize that he was experiencing psychosis due to all the pressure. Buckley ended up moving down to Memphis, Tennessee to get away from all the noise, and to work on creating new music.
He got his own home down there, and began to heal mentally. He got his inspiration back, and began working on his other album, “Sweetheart the Drunk”. Sadly, he would not be able to finish this album. On May 29th, 1997 he went swimming in the Wolf River fully clothed after a show, was pulled under by the pull of a tug boat, and drowned at only 30 years old. Guibert talked about how she got a call from the police, and immediately knew she must go down to Tennessee.
The documentary ends with Buckley’s cover of “I Shall Be Released” by Bob Dylan playing as they speak about his death. Berg showed an exclusive never-seen-before performance of Buckley after the documentary ended that is only available to see in theaters. I had the privilege of being able to see this documentary, and as someone who is a huge fan, it was amazing. I loved how Berg implemented Buckley’s art style to convey his stories, and talked about not only the good, but also the bad. Berg was able to show how entertaining and humorous Buckley was, but also how he wasn’t always perfect. I believe that Berg did a very good job making this documentary into something that can help Buckley’s music be remembered, which is all he really wanted.
