Little Richard is everything, and maybe that was just too many things he could never fully reconcile. This documentary revisits the life of a man who was defined by the songs he created and that changed American rock’n’roll. But also by an internal struggle, throughout his life, between an irrepressible will to express himself, without being defined by his sexuality or the colour of his skin, and his religion.
To think of Little Richard is to think of some of the fastest, most joyous songs in American rock history, full stop. Hearing his rendition of “Tutti Frutti” and not starting to move one’s hands, feet or head is literally impossible. His energy is infectious and intoxicating, whether it’s the way he plays or sings. Little Richard was a force of nature and a musical icon. But he was also a man of many contradictions. In this film, in addition to the music, there is a developing reasoning regarding the importance of this figure in the struggle, over the decades and up to the present day, of the LGBT movement. Richard Wayne Penniman lived out his sexuality publicly for a time, speaking out about his experiences with an exuberance rarely seen in celebrities of his stature. But his religious background manifested itself as being incompatible with a public figure with an image that broke conventions. His explosive performances, however, remain one of the pinnacles of rock music. (Ana Cabral Martins)
