That was it

I saw the movie ‘This is it’ featuring the legendary phenomenon called Michael Jackson.

The movie starts on an emotional note with all the finalized dancers of the MJ team sharing their experience the moment they come to know that they are a part of the live MJ troupe. After all, they were shortlisted from thousands of dance enthusiasts who had flown from almost all parts of the country for the auditions. What a feeling that would have been!!! To dance and perform along side one of the best talents in world music industry. Little did they realize that this would be a short lived dream.

The whole movie is nothing short but an unfolding saga of a long cherished dream of Michael Jackson. A dream to return to the musical arena with a bang. And what a comeback that would have been, if one would have known what he was planning for his fans.

The tempo of Michael Jackson performing live in London was built long before when he was shown announcing the fans of his series of concerts in London. He wanted to prove yet again that age cannot deter his passion and zeal for music. ‘This is it’ is how he concluded his announcement speech as if he meant that he is out to prove himself. After watching the documentary, one does realize that …really this is it, for the mammoth sets and lighting systems and out of the world stage designs.

One can easily see the dedication and obsession Jackson had when he knew all the musical notes from almost all his songs. Little musical pieces, little percussion elements, highs and lows of a song was like there with him everywhere he went. Stills where he is shown correcting a music arranger for the exact sound he wanted showed how minutely he monitored his shows. For the stage, to the props, to his unique and adventurous entry on stage, to the backdrop, his unique clothes, he had a plans for everything. Astonishing is the realization of the fact that the man had a great vision. A ‘larger than life’ thinking and portraying the same on stage is a job of no ordinary man.

Some parts of the movie depicts the crazy things Michael did while rehearsing for the concerts - Fire on the stage, cranes and mechanically controlled creature like objects, acrobatic stunts for the dancers and for himself ,stunning display of light and sound. Best and memorable was the dance sequence where he is shown that he gets into the dance so much that he just lies on the stage with his legs up in air and dances like a child.

Apart from his musical antics, the movie features his much debated ‘human side’. Be it the child in him where he is shown licking a lollipop while auditioning his dancers, or be it the kindness and politeness he shows for the artists who work with him. ‘God bless you’ and ‘love you’ are shown to be the frequent words coming from his mouth for all the people associated with him during the rehearsals. His songs too had a lot of social messages which were mostly written and composed by himself. ‘Earth song’ , ‘Heal the world’ , ‘Free Willy’ and several others leaves an impression of his sensitivity and empathy towards mankind.

One line in the movie describes the way Michael was, the way he lived and the way he envisioned the future when one fashion designer says ‘No boundaries for Michael’. A shocking and sudden death lead him to a place where he went beyond the boundaries and ‘That was it’ !!!