SXSW Review: ‘Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil’
Demi Lovato‘s mental health and addiction struggles haven’t exactly been a well-kept secret. Ever since her first highly publicized stay at a treatment facility back in 2010, Lovato has been admirably open about her struggles, sharing her story across a number of platforms and mediums, such as her music, a book she released in 2013 and several documentaries, including one that aired on MTV in 2012. So when another documentary, titled Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, was announced earlier this year, many wondered what more is there to say? What else is there left to explore?
The answer is, quite a lot, actually. Right from the get-go, the one thing that sets Dancing with the Devil apart from the rest of Lovato’s self-reflective works is just how brutally honest it is. No matter how much she and her team have boasted about the authenticity and the grittiness of her previous documentaries, there was always an air of Hollywood posturing surrounding them, like her stories were noticeably watered down, thoroughly scrubbed of their torrid, heartbreaking details, and meticulously controlled by her team at the time (which she has since parted ways with). There is none of that here, with Lovato outright bearing her soul to director Michael D. Ratner and an audience that will undoubtedly be able to empathize with her and her struggles throughout the course of the docuseries, which debuts on YouTube on March 23.
Covering everything from Lovato’s complicated upbringing to the 2018 overdose that left her with lasting vision problems, Dancing with the Devil is a searing, heartbreaking and visceral look into the life of one of today’s most prominent pop stars, and the harsh price of fame. While Dancing with the Devil is incredibly difficult to watch at times due to its brutally honest portrayal of addiction, Lovato’s personable narration and her bubbly interview segments add an air of lightness to the proceedings, and her ability to poke fun at herself and her struggles is incredibly admirable. The most heartbreaking elements of Dancing with the Devil, however, are the interviews with Lovato’s loved ones, including her younger sister Madison and her mother. You can hear the sheer pain in their voices as they recount the night of Lovato’s overdose, and one story in particular, which involves Madison visiting Lovato in the ICU, will hit audiences especially hard.
Lovato glosses over the subject of her brief engagement to actor Max Ehrich, which ended less than 2 months after they first announced it, or the reason behind their sudden-break up. There appears to be a palpable, underlying sense of embarrassment that Lovato feels towards their short whirlwind of a relationship, which may explain the lack of screentime it gets throughout the duration of the docuseries, but since almost every other subject in Lovato’s life is heavily discussed, it would’ve been interesting to get a glimpse into her state of mind during and after that specific relationship. The making of her upcoming album, titled Dancing with the Devil: The Art of Starting Over, is just barely touched upon by Ratner and his team, which is a real shame since it would’ve been incredibly interesting to see how her recent experiences have informed her songwriting.
All in all, however, Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil is a brutally honest, unflinching, heartbreaking and cathartic portrait of mental health, trauma, addiction and the price of fame. A must watch, not only for Lovato’s fanbase but anyone with a passing interest as well.
Rating: 4/5
Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil had its world premiere at the 2021 edition of SXSW. The first episode will debut on YouTube on March 23.