The most powerful man in the world and his wife can do whatever they want on leaving office. What do they do? They start a TV production company called Higher Ground (if Must TV were feeling post-Presidential we’d have opted for a lost fortnight in Ibiza).
Becoming is the third film from Barack and Michelle Obama’s production outfit following on from the acclaimed American Factory and Crip Camp.
In the Los Angeles Times Robert Lloyd acknowledges that viewers will come to this documentary of the former First Lady with political, and indeed other prejudices: “How you experience Becoming, a new Netflix documentary about Michelle Obama, will largely depend on how you come to it.” He likes it and acknowledges that “some would call this picture flattering — not unflattering, anyway — though it strikes me as a believable picture of a person who doesn’t need flattery.”
In The Telegraph Anita Singh asks if we “Remember when the biggest faux pas of the US presidency was Michelle Obama hugging the Queen? Simpler times.” However, “If you’re itching to know what she thinks of Melania, or to hear her let rip about the current POTUS, you’ll be disappointed. She is too classy for that.” In the Evening Standard Samuel Fishwick likes the film, but eyes what he sees as future manoeuvres: “There’s an argument to be made that this documentary, with its careful edit, is… squeaky clean. If this is her vehicle to reconnect with people — rumours of a future run for president refuse to dissipate — it works.”
It’s intriguing, that even now, there is so much political division that how you approach what is essentially a hagiography of former First Lady Michelle Obama will probably say more about you than about the film itself. Here at Must TV we have a large and well-appointed fence to sit on with regards to politics, and even though we don’t think this is as “unplugged” as the trailer claims, we do reckon this is a fine and uplifting doc that might just make you think there is indeed a higher ground.
Becoming launched May 2020. You can watch the trailer by pressing play on the show image, or by clicking here.
