Luther: Never Too Much

Filmmaker Dawn Porter chronicles the extraordinary life and career of Grammy-winning music legend Luther Vandross in Luther: Never Too Much. Using a combination of rare archival footage of TV appearances and live performances alongside talking-head interviews with Vandross’s friends and collaborators, Porter tells the artist’s story in his own words. More interestingly, though, Porter uses the singer’s career as a vehicle to explore the influence of Black culture in music at the time, as well as issues of racism within the record industry. Although the format is an overly familiar one, Luther: Never Too Much is a fascinating portrait of one of music’s greatest icons.

Spanning from his early life and appearances on Sesame Street to recording with David Bowie and singing with Mariah Carey (who also features in this documentary), there’s a lot of ground to cover in what was a spectacular career. The film moves at a brisk pace without undermining any of the points it raises, with soundbites from the likes of Dionne Warwick, Jamie Foxx and Vandross’s family members adding some extra colour to the topics at hand. However, Porter allows the musician’s own work to speak for itself. No matter how enthusiastic the interviewees are, their words cannot compare to hearing his emotionally raw rendition of Warwick’s A House is Not a Home.  Porter often lingers on these moments, allowing viewers to become swept up in his performances to fully appreciate his velvety vocals.

Outside of Vandross’s numerous career highlights, Porter uses his life story to dive deeper into racial issues. Alongside tapping into the influence of Black artists during the 60s and 70s, the filmmaker also draws attention to the discrimination that Vandross faced throughout his career. Not only did record labels give him a fraction of the budgets that white artists received, but he also faced constant scrutiny regarding his weight. This became a greater problem once rumours about his sexuality also began to spread. Porter handles each of these issues with tact by refusing to play into their exploitative nature.

Luther: Never Too Much is a music documentary done well; it’s a love letter and celebration of the life and talent of the late artist where his music does most of the talking.

Andrew Murray

Luther: Never Too Much is released on Sky on 14^th February 2025.

Watch the trailer for Luther: Never Too Much here: