In the new film It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, Oscar-nominated director Amy Berg stealthily crafts an emotional ride by presenting the facts of his life as told through the voices of key people in his life and career, and through Buckley’s own voice. The love, adoration and respect that Berg, who spent years working on the film, has for Buckley is conveyed in a quiet yet powerful way.
When Buckley released Grace in 1994, the record was a breakout, and it was like at once, the industry and the public had found Buckley to be that once in a generation artist to embrace as their own. From a whisper to a scream, he could lull with his version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” (frequently cited as one of the best covers ever of the song), tap into the romance and rock on “The Last Goodbye” (easily his most accessible tune), then urgently punk out with MC5’s "Kick Out the Jams".
Tragically and unexpectedly, Buckley died by drowning at age 30. There was no follow-up album, not even an opportunity for a sophomore slump.
In telling his story, Berg has created a balance of emotions allowing viewers to feel simultaneously happy, sad, surprised, and curious. Berg has layered scenes and moments where an image or performance is on the screen, with Buckley commenting or talking about what he was going through at that time, while one of his songs is playing under this all. Layers reflecting the beauty and complexity of Buckley’s life experience. How rare and wonderful it is to feel happy and cry at the same time.
Buckley lived and created in an emotional, improvised life. He is fortunate 30 years later to have a kindred spirit in Amy Berg to bring his life and loves to the film screen.
KALW’s Janice Lee spoke with Director Amy Berg to hear her journey from hearing Jeff’s album Grace in 1994, to the following years on the path with Buckley’s legacy to bring his life to film.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Lee: Jeff Buckley released one album in his lifetime. It was highly revered in 1994, with the accolades and attention remaining and growing over the last 30 years. Today, the memory of his life and artistry is showing no signs of diminishing.
Berg: Jeff is having a moment. There is not a reference for it. I can’t think of one artist who made one record, with such a resurgence.
Lee: The music industry has changed since 1994. Changes such as the record label models and the technology and tools now readily available to artists to make and promote their work 24/7. With the completion and timely release of your film, what were your considerations and approach to bringing Buckley’s unique story to the screen?
Berg: I think the more intimate you get with the story and the person – that’s going to translate. It’s why the edit took a long time. But at the end of the day, if you get the story right, you won’t have to worry about anything ancillary because you’re so immersed in the story. And the internet allows for people to do their research. Once they feel very close and connect with Jeff, it’s just all going to explode more. The film’s only been out a week and people are seeing it more than once.
Lee: It was especially heartening to learn about the role of women in his life and his respect and personal regard for women. In the film, there are the interviews (some for the first time ever) with women he kept close to in his life, and the beauty and sadness of those relationships that remain.
Berg: The film came to me in 2019, and I had been out marching with the Women’s March. Then I got this archive and was like ‘Whoa! Jeff was already speaking this language in 1995.’ He was way ahead of his time. I think that’s a testament to a strong single mother (Mary Guibert) who really helped him to form a certain perspective. There was the sadness and the abandonment by his father, but he (Jeff) really had a voice that went straight to the voice of feminism.
Lee: In the film you present what’s real: Jeff as a real person with real relationships, yet there’s also the edge of not knowing what would’ve happened. There was that bit of a mystery.
Berg: I think that’s what life is–there’s no simple answer to anything. And I think Jeff being conflicted, going through the questions he was asking himself, are only part of the story.
For me, the important thing, as someone who is a creative person, sometimes getting overly excited in the moment and that impulse control can sometimes be lacking with Jeff. I could see it and that would be an extreme reaction to something. I think that is the whole picture of the creative brain and how it responds to stimulus. At the end of the day, we now have so many more resources, and also so much more stimulus.
Lee: Did the look and feel of the film come out the way you originally planned it to be?
Berg: It did. I wouldn’t say look–it was the feel. It’s always the emotion for me. For me, I wanted to not make a film that was distant. I wanted to make a film that was immersive, and I wanted it to be the kind of emotion that really sticks with you, not like immediate tears, but more like a feeling that just envelops you. That was the goal, and I do feel that way even after seeing it so many times.
Lee: Were there a few things you learned, maybe specific moments that resonated with you?
Berg: Of course–everything was something that I learned. Jeff’s feminism being one big thing. But also Jeff’s ability to explore fluidity without having to really name it,and just be who he was all the time. And I guess it’s not a surprise, but going to New York he was able to get away from some of the childhood abuse of bullying. He was embraced for who he was, and instead of being made fun of for who he was. So that was a turnaround for him. But the biggest surprise was that he wanted to change, and he was trying to get things together, but unfortunately, he was taken too soon.
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IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY
Magnolia Pictures
Directed by Amy Berg
Watch the trailer here
For screenings and updates:
https://www.magpictures.com/jeffbuckley/
The film is screening now for a limited run in SF Bay Area theaters and throughout the U.S.
Be sure to stay after the current screenings as Magnolia Pictures presents 26 minutes of exclusive, remastered footage from a rare solo performance at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA, filmed on February 19, 1994.
