Janis Joplin: Little Girl Blue (2015, dir. Amy Berg)

Few musician documentaries have delved into the personalities of its subjects as succinctly and effortlessly as Amy Berg's "Janis Joplin: Little Girl Blue."  Through the use of narrated personal letters written to family, friends, and lovers as well as interviews, Berg weaves a tapestry of glimpses into the inner workings of Joplin's head and mindset at various stages of her career and life.

I was not ever a huge, die-hard fan of Joplin's music, nor did I exist during her own existence on this planet.  However, this film gave me new insight, understanding and appreciation for this gifted but tortured artist.

Joplin's early years in small-town Texas are enlightening as to the inspirations and seeds that would soon flower into her momentous career in San Francisco and worldwide.   The bittersweet aspects of her relationships and circumstances are truly heart-wrenching at times.

The film does a masterful job of portraying the ravages of addiction in Joplin's years-long taste for heroin and just how profound a change it was that would transform Joplin's personality at times and affect every aspect of her life.

The music throughout the film is powerful and enjoyable enough to convert any uncertain or undecided musical explorer onto Janis's oeuvre.  Her onstage performances were truly earth-shattering and tremendously powerful.  She had a voice so strong and at the same time she would often scream her music out in a way that some would find hard to listen to.  Given a little exposure to it, you really warm up to it and are transfixed by the live performances.

In the end we are left to wonder what could have been.  Had things turned out a little differently and Janis survived, got clean, ventured on perhaps we would have been graced with even more inspiring music and stories.  Like many musicians who died young, these questions will constantly come up for generations to come.  

You can see Janis Joplin's charisma shine through in all the footage of her in interviews, performances, photos, and home movies.  For this reason she will be eternally missed.