Sasha Weiss

Well, one of the things the film does so well is tell the story of Prince's childhood. And it's maybe worth saying that it doesn't unfold the story in a linear way. It accumulates through the interviews, through all of the different people he speaks to, his lovers, his sister, his friends. And what you see is a picture of a boy.

First of all, he had, according to several testimonies in the film, a troubled relationship with his parents. There was violence in the home. His parents split when he was a kid. First, he was living with his mother. She then remarried. And two people in the film say that Prince told them that when he was a kid, his stepfather shut him in a room or a closet for six weeks. Wow.

First of all, he had, according to several testimonies in the film, a troubled relationship with his parents. There was violence in the home. His parents split when he was a kid. First, he was living with his mother. She then remarried. And two people in the film say that Prince told them that when he was a kid, his stepfather shut him in a room or a closet for six weeks. Wow.

And he came out changed.

And he came out changed.

How could he not? And then when he was 12, his mother kicked him out of the house and sent him to live with his father. He was very close to his father. His father was a musician. And he was a very religious man. He was a strict man, kind of an authoritarian parent. And he found Prince in a room with a girl a couple times. And he, too, kicked Prince out when Prince was 14 years old. So...

How could he not? And then when he was 12, his mother kicked him out of the house and sent him to live with his father. He was very close to his father. His father was a musician. And he was a very religious man. He was a strict man, kind of an authoritarian parent. And he found Prince in a room with a girl a couple times. And he, too, kicked Prince out when Prince was 14 years old. So...

he was an abandoned person. And that abandonment and the dissolution of his family and the feeling of neglect, according to the many people who knew him, was a real through line in his life. This drove Prince to his own unstable sort of familial and love relationships. And one pattern that you see in the film over the course of Prince's life is that he would kind of

he was an abandoned person. And that abandonment and the dissolution of his family and the feeling of neglect, according to the many people who knew him, was a real through line in his life. This drove Prince to his own unstable sort of familial and love relationships. And one pattern that you see in the film over the course of Prince's life is that he would kind of

assemble families around himself in the form of collaborators and bandmates, but he would always really challenge those relationships to the point of breaking. He was distrustful. He was demanding. A couple of his close collaborators say that when they asked for a raise, Prince said to them, if you really loved me, you wouldn't ask me for a raise. He was really controlling with his girlfriends.

assemble families around himself in the form of collaborators and bandmates, but he would always really challenge those relationships to the point of breaking. He was distrustful. He was demanding. A couple of his close collaborators say that when they asked for a raise, Prince said to them, if you really loved me, you wouldn't ask me for a raise. He was really controlling with his girlfriends.

With one girlfriend, he tried to prevent her from seeing her family and from making phone calls at a certain point.

With one girlfriend, he tried to prevent her from seeing her family and from making phone calls at a certain point.

Yes, and I think, you know, what you see unfolding in the film is someone also at war with himself. You know, on the one hand, just this overwhelming creativity that was pouring out of him and a desire to have people participate in that, but a constant pushing people away. You know, he was a great elevator of women, for example.

Yes, and I think, you know, what you see unfolding in the film is someone also at war with himself. You know, on the one hand, just this overwhelming creativity that was pouring out of him and a desire to have people participate in that, but a constant pushing people away. You know, he was a great elevator of women, for example.

He had many famous female collaborators, but many of those collaborators testify to the fact that he could be

He had many famous female collaborators, but many of those collaborators testify to the fact that he could be

you know not only controlling but kind of put them down and diminish them and make them feel worthless and he could also be physically abusive so you hear from a girlfriend of his a collaborator jill jones who talks about a moment when she flew into a jealous rage and prince hit her and never apologized and her anguish many years later is just totally vivid for the viewer

you know not only controlling but kind of put them down and diminish them and make them feel worthless and he could also be physically abusive so you hear from a girlfriend of his a collaborator jill jones who talks about a moment when she flew into a jealous rage and prince hit her and never apologized and her anguish many years later is just totally vivid for the viewer

Well, there's a great moment in the film where he's singing the beautiful ones. You can find performances like this one online. And, you know, one of the refrains is... Do you want him or do you want me? Because I want you. It's the song of yearning. And he is just giving a wild performance of a kind of screaming and keening and, you know, falling. And...