If you aren’t already madly in love with Charles Bradley (the man and the music), you will be after you see this brief, but insightful, doc. (For Bradley fans, this will make him seem even more endearing, if that’s possible.)
Director Poull Brien weaves Bradley’s story together very effectively, beginning with the lead-up to Bradley’s debut CD release (“No Time For Dreaming”) at age 62, and stepping back through his past, as a James Brown impersonator, and even further back to his troubled childhood. Bradley, who lives in the projects in Brooklyn, NY, spends most of his time caring for his mother. He’s stoic, accepting his status in life, but he’s clearly riddled with conflict.
Bradley is the anomaly, the underdog, who’s getting his big break when many people are thinking about retirement. It’s a feel-good story, but as his own life is indicates, anything can happen, be it good or bad. What makes Bradley such an immense person to listen to, both on and off stage, is his apparent inability to hate any being on the planet; he holds no resentment for his misfortunes, and is brimming over with love of the world upon his successes.
He’s so upfront about his life struggles, that it would be hard to make a bad documentary about him.
This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2012.