Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard And Soft - The Tour Live In 3D (12A)

James Cameron and Billie Eilish co-direct an immersive documentary, presented in eye-popping 3D, captured live during her recent world tour in support of the third studio album, Hit Me Hard And Soft. Opening with the track Chihiro from the latest LP, the set list includes Bad Guy, Bury A Friend, Everything I Wanted, Therefore I Am and What Was I Made For?. Electrifying concert footage is intercut with revealing behind-the-scenes material that chronicles the creative evolution of the tour.

LondonNet Film Review

Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard And Soft – The Tour Live In 3D (12A) Film Review from LondonNet

Towards the end of this exuberant documentary and concert film, presented in eye-popping 3D, the Grammy and Oscar-winning singer muses on the close bond she shares with legions of adoring fans, some of whom appear on camera and credit their idol with providing them with a safe space to express their authentic selves. “I want to be the artist that I would want to be a fan of,” casually reflects Eilish. Through the lens, we discover Eilish is a thoughtful, resourceful and occasionally tearful star in constant physical pain as she tours to promote her third studio album, Hit Me Hard And Soft…

With Avatar and its sequels, director James Cameron has pushed the boundaries of 3D on the big screen and he applies those same technological advances to this collaboration with Eilish. She gets a co-director’s credit for the sequences she shot on a handheld camera during the concert as she bounds about a giant LED video floor stage in the centre of the arena, which allows her to perform in-the-round.

The film begins with the concert’s thunderous opening song, Chihiro, performed atop a giant luminescent cube. Once a first wave of cacophonous applause ebbs, Cameron rewinds 11 minutes to venture backstage to show preparations from Eilish’s perspective. She is her own hair and make-up artist and an engaging narrator of events unfolding around her throughout the day. Electrifying concert footage is intercut with sporadic behind-the-scenes material that chronicles the evolution of the tour. We see Eilish discussing colour palettes with her team of lighting designers, billing the concert as “almost the best kind of sensory overload you can get”.

She draws attention to scrapes on her hands from fans, who claw at her, and express a desire for a palpable connection to the crowd. “I want to feel like it’s me and them,” she suggests. Cameron as omnipresent observer behind the camera offers his own analogy: “You’re like a tuning fork and they’re feeling the same beats.” Two sunken band pits in the stage house her travelling companions. In one sequence, they join Eilish backstage for a visit from four-legged friends from a local animal rescue centre. It’s a ritual and Eilish believes physical contact provides a natural endorphin rush. “Everyone needs some dog love,” she grins. “I’m doing this on my next movie,” quips Cameron from behind the camera.

Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard And Soft – The Tour Live In 3D delivers a steady drip feed of dopamine and enough morsels of carefully stage-managed confessional to spotlight the sensitive and vulnerable soul, who continues to question contemporary perceptions of femininity. This is what she was made for.

– Sarah Lee