Chadwick Stadt

I have to admit at first I was very skeptical about this movie and Naomi portraying Whitney. It wasn’t because I was doubting the lack of acting skills Naomi has, but more of I have a certain image of Whitney that I have grown up with in my head that is irreplaceable. Not to mention, the failed biopic attempts in the past. I’m a highly visual person and many movies try to portray celebrities, but the looks just aren’t there to teleport me to “that place in time”. From the moment the movie started, the looks did not matter at all. Naomi was able to not only convey Whitney’s mannerisms and speaking (Naomi is originally from London and spent 6 months adapting her speaking voice to an American accent), but also was able to nail down the performance factor. Naomi had authenticity in her performance which was the real win for me. Her lip syncing over Whitneys vocals were so spot on and magical that I wanted to rewind parts over and again in the theatre! The lip quivering, her eye and neck movements, her hand gestures - I felt like I was watching Whitney live. I walked away, truly mesmerized by Naomi’s performance. I will say, I’m not a fan of CGI in the most recent bigger budget celebrity biopics, but understand that those elements are needed to support certain moments in time like stadium performances, etc. To anyone who is doubting this movie from home, everything I said above is truly what makes this movie magical - and that in part is because of Naomi. She deserves her flowers, she deserves her moment, and deserves all the love from this film.