Tribeca Film Festival 2022: HALFTIME

A global icon, Jennifer Lopez is a force in the music, film, dance, and fashion industries. But a household name is not made overnight, but rather through tenacity and determination – to visualize what they want and work hard to achieve it. Amanda Micheli’s Halftime captures the dynamic powerhouse that is Jennifer Lopez. Documenting an indisputably incredible year between 2019 and 2020, Halftime captures the whirlwind release of Hustlers to the Super Bowl Halftime Show, weaving in and out of both youth and career to capture not only the star of now but the woman who has become an inspiration.

Something to Say

Halftime opens in July of 2019, Jennifer Lopez celebrating her 50th birthday with her daughter and crew. What would be a milestone landmark for anyone becomes the ultimate kick-off to one of her biggest years. The documentary flash-forwards six months, the announcement of her performance for the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show illuminating the direction of the film, Jennifer Lopez addressing the camera, “The world is listening, what am I going to say?”

Halftime spends its runtime answering this question through both the words and history of Jennifer Lopez, as well as through the political landscape that would fill the background of 2019 and 2020. From an early decision in her late teenage years to leave home and pursue her dreams, to seize every opportunity that has come her way, Lopez proves that she is a global icon that has arrived at this point in her life and her career by being tough, pushing harder and demanding more.

While it spends its runtime crafting the vision and perspective of what Lopez wants and needs to say, Halftime touches on the highs and lows of her career – both past and present. From her dating history, the jokes that would encompass her image, and the ridicule that would follow her career, the camera does not pull away. Rather, it captures the challenges she has faced over the decades, as well as within one of the biggest years of her career. From bringing her passion for film to life both in front and behind the camera to Super Bowl last-minute changes, she proves that knowing what you want and going for it can make anything possible.

But most importantly, it’s in knowing yourself that empowers you. Throughout Halftime, Jennifer Lopez is attempting to capture her message through her performance for the Super Bowl Halftime Show, yet as the documentary progresses, viewers will find she has something just as equally important to say about knowing your own self, about accepting yourself and about loving yourself. Lopez admits that she was not in a place in her earlier years to thrive and achieve the successes she has now. As we watch the past interweave with the present, there is an understanding that her power comes from her self-identity and her own self-worth. Where Jennifer Lopez may have started this documentary capturing the message her artistic prowess brought to the Super Bowl, she herself becomes her own message of self-worth.

Capturing the Artist

What Halftime excels at is capturing the artist. As Jennifer Lopez says, “the creation process is passionate, messy, and visceral”. Through the entirety of Halftime, you can feel this passion, see how messy it can become, and feel the art coming to life before your eyes. Lopez is shown with a clear image of what she wants, and we are witnesses to her artistic journey to make this vision a reality. With Halftime’s ability to capture the artist, it comes full circle in presenting the message she wants to deliver as we watch her literally feel the issues, her message, and her art along the way.

While watching Halftime and seeing the Super Bowl Halftime Show again, you see what a powerhouse Jennifer Lopez truly is. She achieved everything she set out to achieve and moreWe see how messy the journey was, her words exemplified and represented. Viewers further witness how she has risen above all the challenges presented to her during the creation of the Halftime show, as well as the triumphs and losses that became a part of her journey but did not define it. Halftime was passionate, it was messy and it was visceral. And by the film’s end, Lopez reached her vision.

Conclusion

Halftime is a lifetime culminating into an epic year of accomplishments and self-discovery. It is an intimate, vulnerable, and comprehensive look at a global icon, documenting a living legacy still in the works. It speaks to the career that is still yet to come. And as Halftime reaches its epic show, viewers will come to understand we are only at Jennifer Lopez’s halftime.

Have you seen Halftime? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!

Halftime premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival on June 8, 2022!

Halftime is now streaming on Netflix!

Watch Halftime