Billie Eilish is said to be hard at work on her fourth studio album, BE4, and the timing seems ripe for a concert film built around her latest album, Hit Me Hard and Soft. The project is full of appeal for longtime fans, with a mix of classic fan-favorites and newer material, and co-directed by Eilish along with acclaimed filmmaker James Cameron.
Billed as a film that “reinvents the concert experience,” Hit Me Hard and Soft instead offers something much more familiar. The film is not a new live music experience but a conventional concert movie in a 3D box that rarely adds anything of note. The 3D effects (when they are not a distraction) are rarely immersive, with a few exceptions such as a cool confetti sequence near the end of the film.
The film captures the shows Eilish performed in Manchester, focusing on her stage presence and occasionally cutting to backstage footage from the hours leading up to the show. The idea of behind the scenes is not bad, but the editing seems uneven, especially in the first act.
The movie begins with a series of live performances and then surprisingly flashes back to explore the beginning of the concert from another perspective. The apparent goal is to pull viewers behind the curtain, but the structure creates repetition that slows the pacing early on.
Once it gets going, the film plays out largely as Eilish’s setlist, from beginning to end. Sweeping camera movements, close-up crowd shots and the polished production values you’d expect from a modern-day concert film. There are lots of behind-the-scenes moments, including interviews with Cameron about Eilish’s relationship with fame and her audience.
Eilish’s confidence as a performer is never in question. Her stage presence continues to be one of the film’s stronger assets, and she owns the arena with ease. But some of the surrounding commentary about her place in live performance can feel a little too self-aware at times, particularly in the context of the long legacy built by artists like Diana Ross and Madonna.
Throughout the film, you can see Eilish’s creative influence. Some of the more intimate backstage shots work very well, offering a few moments of the artist between songs as she moves through the production. The other options just seem less effective, with some performance moments partially obscured by audience phone screens, inadvertently highlighting how concert experiences can sometimes seem more documented than lived in the modern age.
Luckily the energy improves a lot as the concert progresses. Songs like Bad Guy provide genuine momentum, and emotional performances like The Greatest showcase both Eilish’s vocal control and the crowd’s emotional investment.
The combination of high energy shows and slower emotional ballads works well and Eilish certainly knows how to control the atmosphere inside a packed arena.
The film also takes considerable time to focus on audience reactions, sometimes more than necessary. The long shots of fans screaming, crying, singing along and having emotional reactions sometimes feel too much and take away from the performance itself.
Ironically, some of the most real moments in the film are away from the ring. Short interviews with fans who waited for hours, sometimes entire nights, for the show add authenticity and emotional depth. More of such material might have added weight to the documentary elements.
This is ultimately where Hit Me Hard and Soft is a little disappointing. What audiences get is a fairly conventional live performance dressed up with a 3D concept that never quite justifies its presence as a project that bills itself as a reinvention of the concert film format.
A little more insight into Eilish’s creative process, her songwriting, her preparation for the tour or her collaborations with her band would have taken the film beyond standard concert footage. There are some sweet behind-the-scenes moments, including a light-hearted story about every venue having a “puppy room,” but the documentary side is surprisingly surface-level.
But there’s plenty here for committed Billie Eilish fans. The live performances are high energy, the crowd atmosphere is infectious, and hearing thousands of fans sing along creates a number of memorable moments. But for those seeking a more in-depth, revealing look behind one of pop music’s biggest tours, there may be less substance than expected behind the impressive visuals.