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‘Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive’ Review: Doc Proves the Disco Legend Still Has Life to Live
Betsy Schechter's 'Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive' tells the story of the disco legend as she embarks on recording her first gospel album.
But Betsy Schechter’s documentary — which will get a one-night theatrical release in roughly 800 theaters on Feb. 13 following a healthy festival run — also showcases why that serendipity can come at a greater price to the artist than their film’s marketing prospects: Examining the looming shadow of the singer’s 1970s heyday as she embarks upon a new career as a gospel artist, Schechter chronicles the adversity — professional, romantic, even physical — that transformed Gaynor’s chart-topping dance tune into an anthem for female empowerment, the gay community and most of all Gaynor herself. Though Gaynor divorced Simon years before the beginning of the film and is now coupled in a charmingly combative relationship with her manager Stephanie Gold, it’s easy to see the vestiges of that trauma in her anxiety over the world’s perceived indifference to this new musical expression. That said, there are more than a handful of powerful moments in the film to reinforce the triumph of the documentary’s title, such as a public tribute to her by the students, faculty and community at a primary school in Valencia, Spain that provides a much-needed lift just when she’s feeling particularly hopeless about her future.
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