Ok, something crucial I must point out before I go any further with
the review: This is NOT a music DVD. It is a lot of footage poorly edited which, if this
really were the real video diary of Alicia Keys, I would be really disappointed that she
of all people could miss the purpose of keeping a diary.
I must admit that I am a very big fan of Alicia Keys, but even I had a hard time
watching the whole DVD in one sitting. It just plain isn’t very interesting,
compelling, personal, or even controversial. It looks like very amateurish editing, which
wouldn’t have been too bad, except for the pointless jump cuts of Alicia in concert,
in a photo shoot...anywhere. I guess it doesn’t really matter where since it was
simply pointless and distracting - totally putting off the balance in pacing. Instead of a
sincere look at who Alicia Keys is behind the makeup and the stage persona, we are given
linear footage of her doing mundane "celebrity" things like travelling,
promoting, and putting on shows. There were some footage that was cool to watch because it
was Alicia being herself, prepping herself before going onstage, or going ga-ga in a very
luxurious hotel room. If there were more of those scenes in the "documentary",
it would have been a lot more interesting since Alicia Keys herself is a bit of an enigma.
It would have been nice to be teased with a bit more of her personality so we could get
even more intrigued by her. Sadly, the DVD does her no such justice, as it is easy to
become indifferent since there is not much context to why she is saying what she is saying
or behaving the way she is behaving. And even though video diaries are not meant to be
polished, this one is just a messy excuse for a diary.
Sound is not spectacular, but that doesn’t take away anything from the DVD since
a) it’s not a music DVD (which would have been more interesting) and b) it’s
pretty shoddy anyways. Image for the most part is pretty clean, considering that a lot of
it has been shot with a camcorder. However, there are some "interview" sequences
where the colours are so garish that it is just really off-putting and not appealing
whatsoever.
There are no DVD features, unsurprisingly. The only options offered on the disc is to
play all, or to choose from the 14 chapters. Is it worth getting? Let me just put it this
way. It will be hard to find another performer as beautiful, talented, or as genuine as
Miss Keys in her genre. It will be just as hard for me to tell you that this DVD was an
enjoyable experience. Actually, it would be a downright lie.
