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Luther: Never Too Much review – the mystery and brilliance of ‘love doctor’ Vandross

A feature-length documentary about the multi-platinum R&B singer does justice to his talents and tactfully handles the issue of his sexuality

Those performances, and the complex life that informed them, are rightly given a feature-length canvas in this documentary by Dawn Porter, a US film-maker known for her studies of presidents, lawmakers and social movements, here making a rare foray into pop culture. That traditional approach is validated by both kinds of footage: old Vandross performances and interviews have been expertly filleted, while the talking heads are well-chosen, with A-listers such as Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick and Jamie Foxx spritzing stardust between close friends, repeat collaborators and family members. There’s more behind-the-scenes footage to cherish – working up Anyone Who Had a Heart round a piano; rehearsing a cappella with his backing singers – and Porter wisely lets certain performances play long, such as Vandross’s version of Dionne Warwick’s A House Is Not a Home.

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