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Review: Heaven Adores You, a movie about singer Elliott Smith

Published August 14, 2024 at 8:26 PM CDT

By Alice Robinson

Heaven Adores You whooshed into movie theaters across the country on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. On this day, songwriter and musician Elliott Smith would have turned 55, if he would have lived. He died in 2003.

 I watched the introspective documentary along with about 40 fans in the historic Texas Theatre in Dallas. The movie was simultaneously shown in 12 cities across the nation, to honor Elliott on his birthday, moviemakers said on their website, heavenadoresyou.com.

A note about my experience with Elliott Smith’s music: Around 2007 or so, someone recommended Elliott Smith to me.

 I purchased the two-disc New Moon album and felt a positive rush when I listened to Elliott’s songs. I also dug the album’s quirky and fun artwork, and the pictures of Elliott. I was surprised that Elliott’s vocal style seemed to be almost exactly the same on each song because most of the artists I adored displayed more variation—but, I still greatly enjoyed his tunes. One of my favorite songs was “Pretty Mary K.” I still remember feeling like I had a cool secret because I knew the lyrics. A YouTube commenter named ‘lilywigg’ said the song is “hauntingly beautiful.”

Overall, Heaven Adores You takes an admiring, even loving look at the tremendous human being known as Elliott Smith.

Filmmakers lead us to a more complete snapshot of Elliott by delivering interviews with former bandmates, a woman who used to manage him, friends, his former girlfriend, and many others. I found these peeks into Elliott’s World to be thought-provoking and intriguing. The movie’s producers also show us the cities where Elliott lived: Portland, Oregon; New York City; and Los Angeles. They share details and stories regarding Elliott’s experiences in each city. 

The creators’ approach works, and serves to conjure up an artful, vibrant picture of Elliott’s life.

Yet not all of the documentarians’ choices thrilled me. During some parts, I wondered why the filmmakers chose to incorporate such a degree of pensive zoomed-in shots. These camera views were things such as: leaves, snow on the ground, storefronts, trains, and indoor shots like records in a record store. Don’t take me for a non-appreciative viewer; I love tight—extremely close-up—shots for the purpose of illuminating mood and place. However, at some moments, this technique seemed worn-out.

Moviemakers have a range of tools at their disposal! Beautiful scenery is fun, but could the directors have been EVEN more creative? We’ll never know.

Elliott was a complex person. This movie addresses his drug use, and it does not attempt to sugarcoat what sounded like serious substance abuse, later in his life.

However, despite the movie’s attempts, I could sense there was something missing from the story. Here’s one example: Elliott was talented, seemed to have strong friendships, and toured the world with his music. Sitting in my velour theater chair with a soda nearby, I wanted to know more about the contradiction between those elements (success, recognition, friends) and Elliott’s drug use and depression (Note: those two elements did not always occur at the same time).  

Elliott has become an enticing subject for more than one documentarian. This is probably due to his young death (at 34 years old) and the fact that he died from two stab wounds (Heaven Adores You emphasizes that his death cannot necessarily be explained as a suicide). Of course, his terrific talent and emotional depth also make him appealing.

Upon a simple search the day after I viewed Heaven Adores You, I discovered another documentary about Elliott, Searching for Elliott Smith.

After watching the Searching for Elliott Smith trailer for the first time, little bolts of intrigue opened up inside me. I vowed to find out more and watch the whole film, which is available on streaming site Vimeo for $3.99. This movie—judging from the aforementioned trailer—gives off a vibe of being more hard-hitting, “indie,” and a bit more raw than the film I watched. However, it is clear that each director had a different purpose.

I shall not quibble with purpose.  

 Once Heaven Adores You wrapped up, I breezed out of the theater and into the warm 98-degree air and Oak Cliff, Dallas nightlife (surprisingly happening). My state? A happy Elliott Smith Glow.

I was pleased to have witnessed this amazing person even if only through a silver screen. Elliott was creative, passionate, and kind to others. Due to watching this doc I got to see additional glimpses of Elliott how he looked when performing onstage. I tried to analyze Elliott’s face as he sang. Often, his expression was calm and concentrative, but then there appeared a stronger intensity to his face. It’s just a guess, but maybe singing was a way of cleansing for him?

As a person who is also creative, I loved witnessing Elliott’s voice and creativity firsthand.

You can watch Heaven Adores You on YouTube for $3.99. The selection is also available on Apple TV+ and Google Play.

 Pretty Mary K (Other Version or New Moon album lyrics)

 Gonna go down in the water
Fill my mouth up full of sand
I'll be waiting, still impatient
With my dead imagination
While you're with some other man

Copyright 2024 Alice Robinson, alicerobinson.net and Moon ‘o Courage Productions. All Rights Reserved. Contact Alice at: alicerobinson07@gmail.com