Mystify: Michael Hutchence

"It’s close to amazing that Richard Lowenstein’s documentary about the late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence works as well as it does, given the sheer amount of clichés it has to navigate and transcend. Mystify is a music documentary that has a very clear raise and fall arc – Hutchence grew up in a broken family, found monumental fame with his Perth friends, enjoyed stardom, and experienced unexpected difficulties that culminated with his death by suicide in 1997 – that features everything from success measured by Billboard chart achievements and the input of U2’s Bono, the patron saint of the rock doc."

""Oversimplifies Hutchence in a way that’s disappointing for such a complex character. Worth seeing for the candid footage, though, and undeniably moving.""

"Mystify is unapologetically one for the fans. But, seeing it as someone who thought he didn't particularly care about Hutchence's story, I was moved. A purported film about a pop star becomes an unannounced film about the tragedy and the horror of head injuries and the still little-understood and subtle damage they can wreak."

"[Mystify's] an enlightening, tragic glimpse of an Australian icon gone too soon."

"While "Mystify" in many ways amplifies the tragedy of Hutchence's death, it also goes a long way toward explaining and humanising it."

"Lowenstein's film has been a slow-burning labour of love."

"In life and death, he carved his own niche, and Mystify is a more than worthy tribute."

"It should prove essential viewing for the subject's fans: a tender portrait of the man's highs and lows that sheds new light on the broken years that directly preceded his suicide at 37."

"...insightful and revealing in ways that most rock docos could only dream of..."