‘Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé’ is a shimmering documentary stunner | review

The brilliance of Renaissance: A Flim by Beyoncé, a nearly three-hour epic concert documentary, becomes clear just 25 minutes in. And despite the reputation (say hey) Ms. Carter has made for herself as a perfectionist, a moment of imperfection stands out. As we catapult from “Cozy” into Beyhive-favorite “Alien Superstar” the audio suddenly cuts out — and no, it's not yet time for the mute challenge. Ironic considering the song starts with, “Please do not be alarmed, remain calm / Do not attempt to leave the dance floor.” We are unmoved. If anything we're stunned. We see as the crew, donned in shimmering silver jumpsuits jump into action. Beyoncé is unphased and even decides to gag the crowd by changing her outfit during the short three-minute interruption.

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She rises again from the stage in a new silver stunner and the number continues, perhaps even stronger than before. The scene is preceded by the first of several interludes that dive into a facet of the tour, the Renaissance album, or Beyoncé herself. In this vignette, she explains the logistics of putting together a concert of this scale. She emphasizes the sheer magnitude of the staff from the dancers to the lighting technicians to the army of workers putting the stage together by hand — and points out that she didn't want them to be hidden hence the silver jumpsuits. The explanation gives the audio mishap more dimension and complexity because we understand how close to failure the show could be at any moment.

Unlike other concert documentaries like Talking Heads's Stop Making Sense or Taylor Swift's recent The Eras Tour, Renaissance doesn't aim to immerse you into the live show. Though it certainly does.

We'll get to that. Instead, it aims to add meaning to it. It weaves together the personal narratives behind its various moving parts and the literal blood, sweat and tears that went into producing it. It makes the highly impressive performance numbers all the more impactful.

In another vignette, we spend time with Blue Ivy Carter. At just 11 years old she asks her parents to perform on stage. It's already a scary enough prospect for any tween, let alone the offspring of Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Despite initial pushback, especially from Beyoncé herself who experienced first-hand the stage at such a young age (albeit at a much smaller scale), they agree. Much has been made on social media of Blue's appearance and dance break set to “My Power” off of The Gift. It's something that she talks candidly to the camera about. After her first appearance, the internet wasn't entirely kind. Instead of letting it get to her, she talks about how it empowered her to continue on and to improve herself. It connects perfectly to the song itself: 

“Keep it locked in a safe
Don't make me get back to my ways
My power, they'll never take”

It's that profound mirroring that makes the structure of Renaissance so satisfying.

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And while all of this documentary filmmaking is impressive, you come to Renaissance for a show. And a show you will see.

For any souls lucky enough to experience it in person know that Beyoncé performs like no other. The kinetic choreography feels like it plays with the camera as much as it plays with the crowd. There are even moments when dancers will flourish directly to the camera making the audience feel like they're seeing something unique to the film. The songs of Renaissance are propulsive as is. Still, the way the show mixes each into the next creates an unstoppable momentum that is some of the most impressive concert documentary filmmaking ever.

To add even more to the elegant chaos, each number showcases the various looks that Beyoncé and her dancers donned across the fifty-six shows of the tour with quick match cuts that mirror this iconic bit of editing magic from Homecoming. The effect is overwhelming and doesn't just communicate the audacity of having different costumes for each show, it makes the musical numbers more than just a capturing of the show rather a time-jumping montage of the sheer epicness of the tour. 

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The interstitial vignettes cover themes as small as Beyoncé's connection with her hometown Houston — including a trip to Frenchy's — and Blue Ivy's crusade to have the song “Diva” included in full — a hilarious cut from her rant to the performance in the concert is a highlight — to larger societal themes like being a working mother or how vogue and ballroom impacted the creation of the album and show. However, one stands out. Before “Heated” (get your fans out), Beyoncé and her mother Tina Knowles talk about the real-life Uncle Johnny who inspired the now-iconic line, “Uncle Johnny made my dress, the cheap spandex she looks a mess.” 

Johnathan “Johnny” Williams was Beyoncé's uncle. An openly gay black man living with HIV. Tina opens up about their time as young adults partying and designing clothes, laying rhinestones down on fabric one by one. The emotional story adds color to what exactly Renaissance is. It's a celebration of queer Black joy inspired by her Uncle Johnny. However, it more broadly speaks to who Beyoncé has become as an artist.

She is so often revered as larger-than-life, and in many ways she is. With this film, she tells us that while she's able to communicate these concepts epically, they all originate from completely human experiences.

And the tour, despite its perceived perfection, was born out of real human blood, sweat and tears. But also love, joy and respect for those who came before. Renaissance is a love letter. It's a three-hour sweat-your-ass-off-until-you-forget-your-troubles-romp that will go down as one of the greatest concert documentaries of all time. 

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Hey! I'm Karl. You can find me on Twitter here. I'm also a Tomatometer-approved critic.

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