Director: James Cameron, Billie Eilish
Cast: Billie Eilish
114 mins. Rated PG-13 for strong language, and suggestive references.

Billie Eilish has amassed a massive following as one of the most successful and beloved musicians of the past decade, but I’m an old man who couldn’t name more than a few of her songs. For me, the interesting nugget of her new concert film is the fact that James Cameron (Titanic) co-directed the film with her. For some reason, this man who has dedicated much of the past two decades on his Avatar franchise made a pit stop to help shepherd a concert film. I simply had to see it, and if any concert film’s goal is to convert new fans, I’d call Hit Me Hard a Soft a success.

From the setup to the take down, James Cameron’s 3D cameras capture everything of Eilish’s concert, including behind-the-scenes conversations between the two and some of the magic ways of getting the performer onstage and under it, as well as the seas of people crying into their recording devices (seriously, people, put your phones away during the show, you’ll be all the happier for it) and what the music means to them.

The concert footage is all entertaining and I found myself humming a lot of Eilish’s music while leaving the theater, instantly opening Spotify to play some more on the ride home. That’s what most fans will come to see, and it’s very good, but for me, all of the behind-the-scenes stuff elevated the concert experience so much. I’m sure others have thought about the effort that goes into putting a concert on night after night, traveling through the country or the world and having to adapt to new challenges at each location, and I was fascinated just by those pre-show moments or post-show cleanup, as well as hearing about Eilish’s inspirations as an artist and woman as well as what she puts into her work. Discovering her influences being rap and hip hop initially surprised me, and then I saw bits of that influence in her stage persona and her musical stylings.

Eilish has endless energy and it’s clear that she loves being on stage getting to do what she does, and it’s also clear that Cameron is a fan who wants to play with his toys, testing out new 3D equipment perhaps to use in a future narrative feature/Avatar sequel. It’s rare to see James Cameron just having fun without the stress of carrying an expensive feature (seriously, there’s a candid moment here where he compliments her eye liner that’s just so genuine), but he’s comfortable here and seemingly enjoying the collaborate process. They’re both having a great time. and that joy is infectious.

No one can deny Billie Eilish’s talent (few performers would feel comfortable on a big stage commanding silence in order to perform a song with an audio-looping device), but seeing candid moments of her offstage is that solidified my fandom (she has a puppy room at each concert?). I joke about the excessive phone use of the fans at her show, but so many of them are just so emotional throughout that it gave me Elvis Presley/Michael Jackson vibes. Only time will tell where Eilish goes with her career, but she and James Cameron have crafted an entertaining concert film that should more than satisfy longtime fans and potential new converts.

3.5/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

For more James Cameron: Aliens, Avatar, Avatar: Fire and Ash