Capturing Sir Elton Johnโs 50-year career is a herculean task. Good thing his husband, David Furnish, and filmmaker R.J. Cutler were up for the challenge.
โElton John: Never Too Late,โ one of The Associated Pressโ picks for the best music documentaries of 2024, was inspired by Johnโs final U.S. tour in 2022 โ but quickly became a celebration of his life and work. It is filled with insight into his music, relationships โ including a fiery friendship with John Lennon โ troublesome childhood and struggles with addiction. It is bookended by myth-making performances at Los Angelesโ Dodger Stadium in 1975 and 2022.
For fans โ and even John himself โ it is revelatory viewing.
โI was struck by how good the music was in those first five years, because I very rarely listened to my music. I was very proud of that,โ said John. โAnd also, it brought back the incredible struggle that I had with success, having no foundation underneath it. I turned to alcohol, drugs and then had redemption by getting sober.โ
Success and satisfaction are not one in the same, a fact thatโs quickly established in the film. John had fame but hungered for connection. Having a family changed him.
โThe greatest things in my life are my two kids and David. And the music comes secondary to them,โ he says.
โThe title โNever Too Lateโ sums it up for everybody, not just me. You can change things. Itโs never too late to change anything. Thank God I did. Because when I got sober, my whole life completely changed.โ Heโs now been sober for 34 years.
โItโs been glorious compared to what it was for about 10 years, 15 years,โ he says of his past struggles with drug and alcohol addiction. โYou know, I was still playing and touring while I was doing drugs. I never stopped. Because music kept me alive. Music kept me alive. It nearly killed me, but it saved me, if you get what I mean. I am just so proud because now I have a family.โ
He views โNever Too Lateโ as not only a celebration of that journey, but an effective โpiece of advocacy,โ as he describes it. โYou can have children, and you can be gay, and you can have a happy family. I couldnโt be happier.โ
โNever Too Lateโ is also the title of an uplifting theme song written by Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, John and his longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin, currently shortlisted for the 2025 Oscars. Carlile was the catalyst; she paid John and Furnish a visit to their home in France, saw a rough cut of the documentary and felt moved to write a song.
โThis song was about my life, and I found it very easy to write to,โ he said of the collaboration. And its message is simple: โIโve been through hell,โ John says. โAnd I still come out fighting the other side. So, you know, itโs very true to what I am.โ
And while his days of touring are behind him, the song โNever Too Lateโ is part of a โnew era,โ as John explains it. Fans can expect new music in the future. โThere will be a new album sooner or later,โ he said. โIโm dying to record new stuff.โ
A project like โNever Too Lateโ allows for reflection. When asked what John hopes his legacy becomes 50, 100 years from now, he says simply: โI just want, on my tombstone to say, โHe was a great dad.โ Thatโs what I want. The musical legacy will speak for itself. But from a human point of view, โHe was a great dad and a great husband.'โ
Last month, John revealed he had lost some vision after contracting an infection. โThe eyesight is a problem. But weโre looking into treatment for it. Iโm a huge optimist. I basically lost the eyesight in my right eye for the time being. My left eye is not the greatest,โ he says.
Heโs been adjusting to the condition for six months. โIโve had, since this happened, such an empathy for sight- impaired people and blind peopleโฆ When you see so many other people who just canโt see at all โ Iโm very blessed.โ
Johnโs positivity is felt throughout โNever Too Late.โ Heโs uninterested in looking backwards; in the same way his record-breaking accomplishments are celebrated on film, so too are contemporary moments that spotlight his enthusiasm for his family and younger talent.
โFor me, itโs all about whatโs going to happen in the future, not whatโs happened in the past,โ he says. โWith this documentary, we leave certain time behind. And now itโs all about starting again.โ
โElton John: Never Too Lateโ is available to stream now on Disney+.