The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector

Recently convicted murderer Phil Spector enjoyed a stellar career as a music producer that included hits for Tina Turner and John Lennon. Director Vikram Jayanti was granted a lengthy interview with his subject, but The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector makes a significant miscalculation in intercutting it with scenes of Spector's trial for the murder of Lana Clarkson. The film's narrative, and our attention, is divided further by the interlacing of soundbites, live TV recordings and even, distractingly, text captions critiquing Spector's greatest hits. While the film attempts to cobble together snippets of the much-maligned figure's past successes and present dramas, Spector's account of events fascinates of its own accord. The result is a subtly poignant, jumbled, yet consistently entertaining end product – not entirely unlike the man himself. 

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