Cher, Jennifer Hudson, Gloria Estefan, Kesha, Common, LeAnne Rimes, Quincy Jones, Randy Jackson and more come together in Diane Warren: Relentless, to help tell the amazing story of the legendary LA songwriter.

With a back catalogue worth about half a billion dollars, fifteen Oscar nominations, Golden Globes, a Grammy, an Emmy, three Billboard Music Awards etc, Diane Warren has created the soundtracks to millions of lives. As well as the above, Warren has worked with over 450 major artists, including Aerosmith, Beyonce, Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Heart, Ace of Base…I could go on and on. Variously described by her artists as ‘nuts’, ‘cheap’, ‘unrelenting’, ‘optimistic’ and ‘crazy’, the LA native from Van Nuys started her decades-long passion for song-writing at twelve-years-old, armed with a guitar and an untrained mind that wouldn’t give up. A bright, non-conformist, she has had to deal with bullying, teenage sexual abuse and Asperger’s syndrome on her journey. Music has been her home and salvation. Encouraged by her father, but definitely not by her mother, the self-taught Warren was unremitting in her pursuit of a song-writing career, despite having no connections in the music industry. Success took a while coming, but eventually, aged 29, her self-belief paid off with Debarge’s 1985 classic Rhythm of the Night.

A period of time working with German music producer Jack White for $200 a week and no royalties followed before she realised that the string of hits she’d written for him should be earning her proper money. She then set up on her own, self-published, and instantly had a huge hit with Starship’s 1987 Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now. Success after success followed, including Cher’s best-selling 1989 If I Could Turn Back Time, a track Cher turned down a few times until she eventually caved in to Warren’s relentless pursuit. Hundreds of hits and nine number ones later, Warren still works full time from her LA base.

Director Bess Kargman has gained abundant access to Warren, her friends, family and artists and used them to illustrious effect as talking heads to paint an incredible picture. She follows the idiosyncratic Warren in her daily life, from her incredibly messy home in the Hollywood Hills to her even messier studio, Realsongs. Her workspace feels like a hoarder’s lair. It’s crammed and hasn’t been tidied up for over fourteen years, the superstitious Warren fearing that to do so would affect her success. The interviewees give a great insight into the kooky genius. Warren herself is a generous, maverick contributor – she reveals enough but in general isn’t too comfortable being on camera or in the spotlight. She maintains some mystery.

Warren is the most nominated person ever to have not received an Oscar and it’s clear that this lack of a win remains a major driving force for her, as is the dismissal of her mother regarding her career choice. Warren has little life outside her work, other than her ranch for rescue animals, and has been single for decades. She’s obsessed with her cat, Mouse, and says every song she’s ever written could be about her cat. “You only need one believer” she tells us, amongst various inspiring quotes including “There’s a place in the world for freaks like us.” The lack of a formal training means Warren has no boundaries to her work. She still records everything on cassette tapes, only recently adding a mobile phone to her music equipment. Her song-writing themes of love, heartache, hurt and vulnerability are based on imagined relationships – these themes are, however, universal and anyone can relate to them. Kargman combines the interviews with Warren, her friends and artists with lots of nostalgic footage of Warren’s hits – hit after hit will take you right back to your youth. A beautiful, fitting portrait of one of life’s great superstar outsiders.

10/10