SPOILER ALERT: the following article contains massive spoilers, including the ending. If you have not yet seen the movie, proceed at your own risk, or better, come back to this article later!
“Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry” tells the true coming-of-age story of the singer-songwriter and her rise to global superstardom. From award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler, the documentary offers a deeply intimate look at this extraordinary teenager’s journey, at just 17 years old, navigating life on the road, on stage, and at home with her family, while writing, recording and releasing her debut album “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?”
SPOILERS AHEAD
Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry Plot Summary and Synopsis
The film begins during the success of Eilish’s song “Ocean Eyes”, which earned virality on SoundCloud and began receiving radio airplay. Three years after recording the song, Billie is on tour performing at a small venue in Salt Lake City. After seeing a fan being carried out after getting hurt, she reminds the audience that they need to be okay because they’re the reason that she is okay. Billie explains that she doesn’t refer to her fans as “fans”, but rather as a part of her, and that she acknowledges her audience as people going through tough times just as she is.
Billie and her brother Finneas are in the latter’s bedroom recording the song “Bury a Friend”. Billie shows the camera a notebook containing drawings and lyrics, as well as ideas for her music videos. Billie’s mom Maggie helps Billie show off her idea for the music video for the song “When the Party’s Over”. At the shoot for the video, Billie becomes frustrated due to various mistakes. After the shoot, Billie explains that she wants to direct the rest of her music videos by herself. Later, Billie and Finneas record the intro to the album which involves Billie’s Invisalign and then discuss the process for recording the song “Bad Guy”. The camera then shows Billie after passing her driver’s permit test. Billie says that her dream car is a matte black Dodge Challenger.
Billie and Finneas practice the song “I Love You” in the bedroom. Later on, they are recording the song “My Strange Addiction”. Billie and her team discuss finishing the album and recording the rest of the songs. Billie and Finneas record the song “All the Good Girls Go to Hell”, which Billie describes as “horrible.” Billie expresses frustration over the time they have left to finish the album while also criticizing her own singing. While recording the song “Wish You Were Gay”, Billie and Finneas argue over the concept of accessibility in her music; this prompts an argument in the kitchen involving Maggie. Billie expresses her hatred for songwriting. After finally finishing the album, Billie appears on the Kevin & Bean Show and plays a video showcasing her love for Justin Bieber at 12 years old.
Billie meets up with her boyfriend “Q” at a show where she performs “Lovely” with Khalid. After shooting the cover for the album, Billie is presented with a matte black Dodge Challenger as a present for her 17th birthday. While touring in Europe, Billie’s mom expresses concern over the song “Xanny” due to its topic of drugs. As Billie looks at promotional material for the album, she suffers a major tic attack due to her Tourette syndrome. After performing the song “Copycat” at a show, Billie is dealing with major pain in her legs due to excessive jumping at her shows. Billie reveals how injuries ended her dancing career when she was younger.
After returning home, Billie begins healing her legs before upcoming performances. Billie’s manager calls her to talk about how Justin Bieber wants to record a remix of the song “Bad Guy.” Meanwhile, the album becomes a roaring success, reaching the #1 spot in several countries and receiving a positive critical reception. Finneas shows Billie her Spotify page and how her songs have garnered hundreds of millions of plays. Billie and her family meet Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom at Coachella’s backstage area. Katy gives Billie advice and tells her that she can call if she needs anything. Billie performs and is unimpressed with her performance due to technical difficulties and forgetting lyrics to the song “All the Good Girls Go to Hell”. She calls “Q” and asks him to come see her, but he blows her off to which Billie responds by throwing her phone on the floor. During Ariana Grande’s set, Justin Bieber surprises Billie and they meet for the first time. Soon after, Billie gets her driver’s license.
While continuing the tour, Billie reveals that she and “Q” have broken up due to their ongoing issues. Billie becomes increasingly emotional during and after a performance of “I Love You”. Afterwards, Billie becomes angry after being forced to meet multiple media people that she deems “random.” On the road, Billie expresses annoyance over comments made stemming from the incident and states that she doesn’t want to be perceived negatively by her fans. At a show in Milan, Billie sprains her ankle at the start of the performance which leaves her embarrassed. She apologizes to the audience and says that she’d rather not give them a show versus give them a mediocre one. Billie continues to rehabilitate her legs while recording the song “No Time to Die” for the new James Bond film of the same name. Later on, Billie reveals that she used to cut her wrists with blades in the bathroom at a younger age, showing various words written in her notebook as well as on a wall.
One day, Billie’s parents wake her up to reveal her and Finneas’ nominations for the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, which includes Billie being nominated for all four of the major categories (Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best New Artist). During a ride in the car, Billie exclaims that life is good. Various events are shown such as Billie celebrating her 18th birthday, directing the music video for the song “Everything I Wanted”, and winning 5 Grammys while becoming the youngest artist in history to win all four of the major categories. Billie gets a call from Justin Bieber who congratulates her.
Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry Ending
The movie ends by showing Billie singing “Ocean Eyes”, the song that launched her career.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).