“Linda Perry: Let It Die Here” (Mercury Studios + Utopia) [Documentary Review]

Linda Perry shares her insight into the music community in a new documentary entitled Let It Die Here—more info here. Perry describes her struggles with obtaining producer credit for the songs she produced, trying to figure out who she is as a person outside of a musician and her time with the band 4 Non Blondes.

Perry details her home life growing up with her mother, siblings, and alcoholic father, who she describes as rather cruel. The household was not a loving one, not one where feelings were described, and abuse lent itself to a very traumatic childhood. She considers it a wonder that she got to where she did after growing up in such a household.

Implicit in this discussion and brought about by discussions, particularly from Brandi Carlile’s interview, is a conversation about queerness in the music space. The release of this documentary in June, Pride Month, is most definitely noted. Not only that, but one of her methods of activism is to encourage more women in the tech space within the music industry. Her experiences as a mother and as a breast cancer survivor add to the elements of complicated womanhood that play a role in the film.

The film features artists such as Christina Aguilera, Dolly Parton, and Brandi Carlile. They discuss the songwriting process and explain their experiences working with Perry. Perry also gives the audience a glimpse of the production work she does for film scores, which marks an unexpected addition to her clear musical talent.

One of the final scenes, which was my personal favourite, was the behind-the-scenes development of a single written solely for herself. The scene shows the development in a single day of bringing musicians together to naturally develop the musical backdrop of the song. It was absolutely fascinating to watch her process and to watch her go through a healing moment. The song was inspired by the mourning of the mother Perry wished she had had her whole life in the wake of her mother’s death.

Linda Perry, photo by Heidi Zumbrun

Throughout Let It Die Here, there are portions of animation and stop motion animation with Perry doing a voice-over. This adds such a different level of complexity and nuance to the typical artist documentary. It also indicates an added level of effort aside from the expectation of performance clips and behind-the-scenes snippets.

The film features multiple scenes of Perry breaking down or expressing a need to figure herself out and what she wants out of life. Her anger, stress, and feelings of failure, even in the face of such success, are strongly evident throughout the film. It certainly is one to grip at your heartstrings.

Overall, Let It Die Here is a must-watch, regardless of what level of Linda Perry fan you might be.

“Linda Perry: Let It Die Here” movie poster

Director: Don Hardy
Producer: Shawn Dailey
Starring: Linda Perry, Sara Gilbert, Dolly Parton, Christina Aguilera, Brandi Carlisle
Distributed by: Mercury Studios + Utopia
Release Date: TBA
Run Time: 93 minutes