If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

2016 will be remembered by pop music fans as the year of so many untimely deaths. Amongst others, I suppose the two which stood out, if that's the right phrase, were those of David Bowie and Prince before George Michael succumbed on Christmas Day to blight his many fans seasonal joy and cap a miserable year for celebrity demises. Although his fame had diminished somewhat in America, he unquestionably remained hugely popular here in his native UK and it was certainly a shock to learn that he too had died so young.With voiceovers by Michael himself, although he's coy about making an actual appearance on camera as we see a back view of him, at least I think it's him, sitting at an obviously favourite writing desk in his London home battering away at an old typewriter, by using the tried and trusted device of contemporary footage and celebrity endorsements, this is a loving, indeed at times adoring portrait of the artist as a young man. Michael more than once equates himself with the three other acknowledged mega-stars of the 80's, Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson and on the musical evidence here, he certainly deserved that accolade. Good looking, with a fantastic voice and a prodigious writing and production talent, he left his previous group Wham! at the height of their success before spring-boarding to even greater initial solo success with the release of his "Careless Whisper" single and "Faith" album.This documentary focuses on his three-album run from "Faith" to "Listen Without Prejudice" and "Older" especially the middle album which became a cause-celebre at the time of its original release with Michael famously failing to promote it to protest at his US record label's failure to recognise his artistic pretensions at the time. Thus we see celebrity pals like Elton John, Ricky Gervais, Stevie Wonder, Jean-Paul Gaultier and a very unlikely Liam Gallagher lining up to fight George's corner, although of course he lost his infamous "professional slavery" court case against Sony Records at the time.Michael also opens up about coming out as a gay man, although not until after the death of the great love of his life, Brazilian Anselmo Feleppa and how this, plus the death of his mother plunged him into both personal and artistic depression. There's relatively little coverage of the various, usually drug-related incidents in his personal life which fuelled the tabloids which tends to make what we see probably a little too adulatory and uncritical.After he died, I remember stories coming out in the press about his generosity and philanthropy, usually done with anonymity, bolstering the strong central message that this on-the-face-of-it most photogenic of pop stars was actually shy, troubled and insecure. Poor little rich boy, some may sneer but seeing him ensconced in his London home hardly seeming to live the remote, luxurious rock-star life, you're left with the sad thought that like Michael Jackson, Prince and Whitney Houston, his celebrity status failed to bring him true happiness.Better then to focus on the often wonderful music he provided and regret that he was denied the opportunity to return to the musical scene he once dominated. More human and approachable it seems than many in the music industry, his was a sad loss and another of those gone-too-soon exits which makes you wonder what he might yet have achieved had he lived.

The world was shocked by the news that music icon George Michael had died, Christmas Day 2016, from natural causes (as a result of dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and a fatty liver), aged 53. This film, which he directed himself, alongside David Austin, was completed two days before his sudden death, so additional material was added, it serves as both a celebration and a tribute of the life and career of the acclaimed singer-songwriter. George Michael was born 25th June 1963, he formed the pop duo Wham! in 1981, alongside Andrew Ridgeley, and they had great success with many Top 10 and chart-topping songs, including "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)", "Young Guns (Go for It)", "Bad Boys", "Club Tropicana", "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Freedom", "Everything She Wants", "Last Christmas", "I'm Your Man" and "The Edge of Heaven". In 1984, George recorded some solo work, including Number One songs "Careless Whisper" and "A Different Corner", and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)", the duet with Aretha Franklin, before the breakup of Wham! in 1986. George released his first solo album, Faith, in 1987, hit songs from the album included "I Want Your Sex", "Faith", "Father Figure", "One More Try" and "Kissing a Fool", the album went on to win at the Grammys, the MTV Video Music Awards, the BRITs, and the American Music Awards (awards then were normally given to black artists). His second solo album released was Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, featuring hit songs "Praying for Time", "Freedom '90" (the music video does not feature George, he directed it, it features supermodels, including Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford), "Waiting for That Day", "Heal the Pain" - which later became a duet with Sir Paul McCartney, "Cowboys and Angels" and "Waiting (Reprise)", but George refused to appear on the album cover, or do any real promotion for the album, it went on to win at the BRIT Awards. He released many songs and went on stage, including "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" - the duet with Sir Elton John, "They Won't Go When I Go" (a Stevie Wonder cover), "Living in the City" - live duet with Stevie Wonder, a collaboration with Adamski on "Killer/Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", singing "Desafinado" with Astrud Gilberto, "Too Funky" (his final single with Sony), and a cover of "Somebody to Love", with Queen as part of the Freddie Mercury tribute concert. But George went on hiatus from the music industry, leaving record label Sony, he went to court about ending his contract, he felt he had no control of his work, he lost the case and was out of work for five years, during this time he also suffered the death of his partner, Brazilian dress designer Anselmo Feleppa, who died of an AIDS-related brain haemorrhage. He finally returned to music in 1996, releasing his third solo album, Older, which featured the songs "Jesus to a Child", "Fastlove", "Spinning the Wheel", "Star People" and "You Have Been Loved", the album went on to win at the MTV Europe Awards, the BRITs, and The Ivor Novello Awards. During the late 1990s, George came out as gay, following his arrest for lewd conduct in a public toilet in Los Angeles, he released songs "Outside" (his "coming out" song), "As" - the duet with Mary J. Blige, and "If I Told You That" - the duet with Whitney Houston. George's fourth solo album release was Songs from the Last Century, but none of the songs on the album charted, he also suffered the devastating news in 1999 that mother Lesley had cancer, she died a year later. The fifth and final solo album George released was Patience, with many songs from it charting in the early 2000s, including "Freeek!", "Shoot the Dog" – 2DTV animation in the music video, "Amazing" and "Flawless (Go to the City)". In the late 2000s and early 2010s, George released many compilation albums, including Twenty Five, and released songs including "An Easier Affair", "December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)" and "How Do You Keep the Music Playing" – duet with Tony Bennett. The documentary features many clips of George's personal home footage, his appearance on BBC Comic Relief – the first Carpool Karaoke with James Corden, his guest star appearance in the Extras Christmas Special, and his performance at the London 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony. It also features a cover of "Fastlove", a ballad version by Adele (she famously performed it live at the Grammys, and swore requesting to start again), and a new version of "A Different Corner" – a duet with Chris Martin, plays in the end credits. Introduced by Kate Moss, with contributions from David Austin (friend and manager), Emmanuelle Alt (editor of French Vogue), Tony Bennett, Mary J. Blige, Naomi Campbell, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Clive Davis (Whitney's manager), Tracey Emin, Linda Evangelista (model), Jean Paul Gaultier, Liam Gallagher, Ricky Gervais, Sir Elton John, Tatjana Patitz, Nile Rodgers, Mark Ronson, Christy Turlington (model) and Stevie Wonder. This film really makes you realise how much George Michael changed the music industry, touched many people across the world, how talented he was both writing and his brilliant voice, featuring great use of archive footage, George narrating a lot of it himself, a most watchable music documentary. Very good!

'Freedom' is a documentary about Geroge Michael's life mostly put together by the singer himself before his untimely death last year. And it was an interesting life, that of a Watford schoolboy who became a global pop star, a legal warrior fighting his record company, and a gay man who finally embraced his sexual identity. Unfortunately, this film is not particularly interesting: Michael was a private man, and the story as told doesn't feel particularly personal. Nor is there a great discussion of the music, beyond the obligatory parade of talking heads who gush but offer no insight. The main thing that comes across is Michael's professional self-belief and ambition; though he talked of slavery in his battle with Sony, we get the sense less of a free spirit unable to work with the man, and more of someone angry he was not getting the respect he considered his talent deserved. I'd have liked to know more about the real George Michael; but here I felt I saw only what Michael wanted to be seen.

What I really liked about this documentary was the insight we got, from George himself, into the beautiful lyrics that he wrote and performed, especially after the death of his first real love, Anselmo. George told us what inspired his song writing before and after his meeting with Anselmo and he showed us, with the help of musical clips, how his various emotions manifested themselves through song. His happiness when he met Anselmo, his sadness when Anselmo died and when his mother died of cancer, his anger when Sony refused to let him go and his humour after his unfortunate encounter in a Beverly Hills loo, Ricky Gervais made us laugh with his take on the affair. Elton John seemed to understand George well and perhaps surprisingly, Liam Gallagher too.They, along with a few other celebrities, helped us get to know George better and by the time Chris Martin started to sing "A Different Corner", his tribute to George at the Brit Awards, there were tears in my eyes. I met George Michael many years ago and we all knew he was gay, but most of all it was obvious that he was a very kind person and very vulnerable, which comes across during this fine documentary. You will laugh and probably cry when you watch Freedom, I dare you not too!