‘Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now’ Netflix Review - It’s Worth A Watch

Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now is a 96-minute long documentary from Netflix which talks about the artist’s journey including his highs and lows. There are many things for one to learn from this documentary.

The documentary starts by telling the audience how Lewis’ debut album sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The singer is seen telling that he is insecure about the things that he has achieved and during this conversation, we can see that he’s conscious and his mental health isn’t good. 

The documentary then tells the audience what happened four years ago. On December 18, 2018, Lewis is recording his videos saying that was the day he had become a celeb and he was happy about it. People are shown enjoying themselves in his concert while he sang Someone You Loved, the debut song which was number 1 in America. From being a C-list celeb, Lewis became an A-lister.

After 15 million Global streams and sold-out shows in 36 countries, the global pandemic forces Lewis to return home to begin writing his second album. He’s come back to Whitburn, Scotland, UK in August 2020. Lewis introduces the town to be a small one which had various pubs. “Ordinary is such a remarkable thing”, Lewis said. He loves the place and the attitude of people there, and many beautiful places are shown.

Greg and many other people tell him not to make sad songs. People around him found his lyrics to be about the same thing and like they have heard it before. The global pandemic was one of the three worst things in the life of this artist. He felt like he came close to dreams as much as one can get. After his first album, people began wondering if he will be able to do that again. There’s a lot of tension, and with people pressurizing him for his next song, things got worst.

After he became famous, he felt that fame doesn't change you, it changes everyone around you. Lewis’ relations with his family are shown including his many childhood albums. Mark, his father used to take him to various gigs, and videos of the same have been included in the documentary. For many years Lewis played in clubs and didn’t receive much attention. With Bruise's song, he went viral. Along with his songs, his Instagram posts were fabulous, and people liked that. 

He was pressurized to release the second album, and people asked him not to make sad songs. Ryan, his manager used to call him as he wanted to know when his next song will be released. After he wrote 54 songs, he was seen discussing them with Ryan (the manager) and Aiden (Music Director) who question the thoughts that were behind the lyrics. His shoulder is seen twitching, it was anxious twitching. His parents (Mark and Carol) are worried as they saw how much pressure he had on him to deliver his next album.

Lewis wasn’t able to handle it and went to Los Angeles, the City of Angels. He thought that this move will aid him in writing better, but the thing that he needed to prioritize was his mental health. Twitching worsens, and self-doubts surround him. In March 2020, during the final days of his UK tour, we can see that his anxiety had increased a lot. Things were getting worse, and he once stopped singing in the middle of the concert.

His parents couldn’t see him suffering through this. The way he talked, you can see the pressure as his whole body would be twitching. There was a race against the clock to get his mental health in order as he also had panic attacks. Lewis felt disconnected from reality, there were convulsions, and he felt like he was dying. Carol while talking to the camera stands up and cries. 

When Lewis gets called in for an interview, you can see the pressure which was a looming thing. The man was unable to stand still, let alone perform. Once he used to enjoy performing in front of an audience but now, things were completely out of control. Lewis' family and team decide to pause the writing and recording of the album to focus on his mental health. Four months later, it is discovered that he has Tourette’s and has been put on treatment. 

The most important thing that Lewis realizes is that he has to take responsibility. He starts working on Forget Me which was his comeback. The O2 Arena was his first solo in three years, and he found it hard to go back on stage as to him it was like starting all over again.

I come among those people who don’t like documentaries, but this one I tell you is a must-watch. They show how an artist who was at the top of his career got anxious and had self-doubts. Lewis was unable to write any good songs for his second album despite trying 54 times. Yes! You read that right. He had 54 songs written, but none of them were good enough to be released. 

He slowly got surrounded by anxiety. Whenever he was under pressure, his shoulders twitched. His condition gradually got worse, and his whole body went into convulsions. Mark and Carol were scared of watching him, and they decided to start him on treatment along with taking a break. It is heart-wrenching to watch such a young talent suffer from mental health problems. 

Childhood trauma forms an important part of his journey. I loved how the director was able to catch the artist’s vulnerabilities on the screen. It's not necessary that a successful individual will always be happy in his/her life, just like we saw in Lewis’ life. Not everyone can handle the pressure that well, and being an artist, things came naturally to him. Also, Lewis teaches the audience that self-doubt is the worst thing that one can do to himself/herself. To return stronger than ever is the best takeaway message from Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now documentary.

Final Score – [8/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
Follow @_riyasinghhh_ on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times