‘Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour’ Review: Billie Turns Vulnerability Into Arena-Sized Magic

There’s something palpably warm and endearing about BIllie Eilish and that becomes apparent right from the opening frames of “Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour.” And that tangible niceness runs right through the concert film, with a runtime shy of two hours. 

Billie’s a consummate performer: a fact that isn’t lost on you and is reiterated for effect, in a very show-don’t-tell fashion, by director James Cameron, who creates an intensely immersive capturing of a few nights in Manchester’s Co-Op Live, while she was on tour last year.

While the concert in itself is functional by today’s standards, what elevates it is the entertainer’s frenetic energy. She moves fluidly across the stage, under it and through the crowds with a well-worn finesse.

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Fan or not, you are compelled to sing along even if you don’t know the lyrics. You’d be lying if you say you haven’t heard at least a couple of these tunes. It explains a lot why Cameron came on board this film and why Robert Rodriguez helmed “Happier Than Ever - A Love Letter To Los Angeles.” 

There’s an invisible draw-in to the star, across demographics and age groups and that’s likely because she speaks to her legions of fans directly. They feel “seen”, they feel “heard” and they feel “complete” and invariably “at home”  when she sings to them. 

A deeply personal moment in the film is when she runs around the stage, a victory lap of sorts or sits at the edge, engaging with as many fans as she can and later, shows Cameron the bruises on her arm, a battle scar of sorts. That and the choice to go on despite more unsteadying injuries. It’s a terse moment that plays out in real time. One standout is when she addresses how female performers are held to a different standard and expectation and how she’s attempting to break that perception.

Cameron and his director of photography John Brooks bring the action to you. This is about as in-your-face as you will get with Billie, but the immersiveness is by no means novel. It’s something you’ve come to expect from the artist after “Happier Than Ever.” Apart from the couple of times that Cameron goes hands-on on screen while being behind-the-camera playing interviewer as well, it is editor Ben Wainwright-Pearce’s sharp pacing and flawless cutaways that hold you.

Billie’s equation with her brother and frequent collaborator Finneas O’Connell forms a fair chunk of the second part of the film and you see why they’ve been such a winning duo. You are constantly in awe of how involved Billie is in every aspect of planning and production and why she regularly sells out stadiums the world over. You see Billie’s lure, the scale and the effort and consistency and wonder what it is that Cameron’s association actually adds to the experience. Moreover, a big peeve is that 3-D seems unnecessary, at least in this case. The concert film looks spectacular without the added bells and whistles. 

But at no point do you feel that her heart isn’t in it. Billie clearly wants to continue doing this for the foreseeable future and she probably will. The group of girls dancing in a corner to her songs, in a corner near the screen will probably agree.