"I'll Be Me" , The Story Of Glenn Campbell's Journey Into Alzheimer's , To Re-Air On CNN In November
Last week I was looking for something to watch on Netflix and saw the documentary "I'll Be Me" in the "new additions" list. I always liked Glenn Campbell's songs and the movie True Grit , so I turned on the documentary. All I can say is "wow". This is one of the best full length documentaries I have ever seen. The "plot" is Glenn Campbell's last tour, after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and during the course of the film we see him deteriorate to the point where he loses it on stage, for getting lyrics, forgetting the name of his daughter ( who he plays "Dueling Banjos" with at one point) as the sold out audience sits in respectful silence.
"I'll Be Me" is funny, tragic, extremely heartfelt, a plea for research, a tear jerker extraordinaire, and a musical. Campbell's band members include three of his children. His wife is a saint and an angel and he comes to lean on her 24/7. I cannot express how good I thought this movie was. It currently has a 100% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
CNN , I later found out, will be showing this movie at least one evening in November. You could also catch it at Netflix and on DVD.
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Near the end of the movie, Glenn Campbell records a song, "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" that was written as his farewell, to not only to music, but to his life, and his wife and family. Glenn makes it through the song in the recording studio, but never sang it in a live performance. The disease had progressed to the point where he could not manage it.
I saw this when it first was aired. Hands down, it is one of the very best films (documentaries) that I've ever seen.
Powerful, very powerful. Some parts of it will bring you to tears. Others, very uplifting. It's a battle that Glenn and his family knows that he is going to lose. Yet they never quit, Glenn never quit. The love shown between Glenn and his family is just one reason to view this film.
When he sang, ''I'm not going to miss you'', it's difficult to explain the feelings you'll get. You just have to watch it.
This is an AAA++++ film.
I agree with you completely Kavika. I expected it to be an interesting and compelling story. I did not expect it to be as moving and heartbreaking as it is. Glenn Campbell's wife appears to be much younger than he is, and at first I thought she might have been some gold digger or something when they met, but within seconds it is completely obvious that she loves Glenn very much. Kim Campbell is the "co-star" of the movie, and she comes off as a remarkable person in her own right.
I hope people watch it on CNN next month or on Netflix.
I always enjoyed Glenn's singing, so I thought it would be interesting to watch.
Like you JR, I was completely blown away by it. Agreed, Glenn's wife was deeply in love with him, and his daughter, Kim is a remarkable person.
It is a ''must watch''...
I was very impressed by his daughter.
We don't have Netflix (we didn't want to spend the money on a separate device and the monthly fee (we're cheap)), but I'll keep an eye out for it.