Rating: PG-13 | Runtime: 104 minutes
Release Date: November 24th, 2023 (USA)
Studio: Netflix
Director(s): Matthew Heineman

Know your craft. Do your thing.

Documentarian Matthew Heineman knows how to tell a story—effectively, emotionally, and … quickly. The guy has a new offering every year despite often being credited as cinematographer and editor on his own projects too. You almost want to tell him to slow down, except his output is too consistently good.

American Symphony is no exception. Begun as a way to put Jon Batiste’s process of getting the titular composition ready and practiced for a one-night only orchestral performance at Carnegie Hall, Heineman finds his subject on the edge of a massive precipice both in his professional and personal life. Fresh off an Oscar win for his work on SOUL, Batiste suddenly found himself as the most nominated artist at the 2022 Grammy Awards. His fame was skyrocketing just as his heart was breaking with the discovery that long-time partner (and now wife) Suleika Jaouad’s Leukemia had returned.

We get a little about his history at Juilliard and his performances on subways with a melodica. There’s his path into the lives of established artists who introduced him to each other en route to landing a gig as band leader on “The Tonight Show”. The unbridled love for art, music, and life that never seems to fade even as the crippling anxiety hits. And then the present chaos of supporting Suleika, going on tour, preparing the symphony, and hoping the praise and exposure at the Grammys doesn’t push his ambition further than his health should allow.

I’m admittedly a Batiste fan. His song “Raindance” is one of my favorites of 2023 and seeing him working and existing with a genuine smile and passion to inspire is tough to dislike. That’s not the sole reason I enjoyed this film, though. As Batiste himself said during an acceptance speech: “Art is subjective.” However, I’m not sure anyone who understands what it is to create and love so deeply will be able to watch and not get something from the experience. It’s a wholesome, harrowing, and inspirational journey. And also the beginning of a new chapter marked by a cognizant potential for implosion. But it’s easy to believe he’ll be okay.

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Suleika Jaouad and Jon Batiste in AMERICAN SYMPHONY; courtesy of Netflix.