When filmmaker Katherine Fairfax Wright was first offered the job to direct ‘Behind The Curtain’ a documentary on the You Tube musical vlogger Todrick Hall, she admitted that she had never heard of him. So too may many of the audience that get to watch her rather compelling film, but after 100 somewhat manic minutes watching this over-active ambitious young performer, you not only get to know a great deal about him, but also even to fall in love with him a tad too.
32-year-old Hall has evidently never lacked ambition leapfrogging from a gig as a performer at a Disney Theme Park in Orlando to becoming a semi-finalist on TV’s American Idol, before turning into a highly successful You Tube star. This rapper/singer/songwriter/actor/dancer/producer seems to have an an endless source of energy and inspiration which Wright captures so succinctly on film.
When the documentary starts the disarmingly charming Hall is about to start his most impressive project to date. It is a new musical called Straight Out Of Oz based loosely on Judy Garland’s classic movie, that he intends to create/write/compose/perform/produce in a seemingly impossible short time. Somehow by working almost 24 hours a day he inspires his young creative team to help turn this larger-than-life dream of his into a reality.
It is a daunting task but as he hurls himself at it manically to make it all work by a very tough deadline that he has set for the project, we cannot help but get carried away with his unbridled enthusiasm. More than this however is the gradual realisation that not only is he capable of pulling the whole project off, but the more that he exposes his talents as both a songwriter and performer, we know that it will be major success.
He incorporates his own life story, including his tough childhood growing up gay in a conservative religious African/American family, within the framework of his show which is a cathartic experience for him and also one that brings him closer to the audience. One of Hall’s greatest talents is his ability to really connect with his fans and by understanding them so intuitively is a major contribution to his success.
Frankly watching this all unfurl is rather exhausting to watch, but it’s good to see Hall actually unwind with his very supportive boyfriend showing he has a happy life in his downtime too. We are so in his corner at this point, so at the end of the movie when Hall announces that he has been cast to play the lead in Kinky Boots in Broadway without even auditioning, we know that the Producers made exactly the right decision.
Labels: 2017, biography, documentary
