Sinéad O'Connor - A Singular Performer
The events of Nothing Compares take place between 1987 and 1993, chronicling Sinéad's meteoric climb to prominence, her visionary actions and statements while at the top, the violent backlash, and her tragic isolation from the limelight. The movie updates the story to the present day and reinterprets her story from a feminist perspective. It strives to see through Sinéad’s problematic behavior by diving into the greater history of Ireland and illustrating the misogynistic society into which she was born. Furthermore, the work delves into her legacy, illuminating how her deeds contributed to Ireland's cultural shift, ultimately making it one of the world's more liberal nations.
The Irish singer-songwriter claims to have never lost faith despite a life filled with abuse, celebrity, controversy, and suffering. O'Connor “feels herself lucky” because she prefers her own company! She has been invisible for the past few years.
A singer and songwriter from Ireland, Sinéad O'Connor has been a household name for years. The music industry took notice of O'Connor during her time singing with Ton Ton Macoute, and Ensign Records eventually signed her. O'Connor acknowledged artists' influence on her first album, including Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Bob Marley, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the Pretenders. A duet titled "Kingdom of Rain" featured O'Connor and The frontman Matt Johnson and was recorded for the band's 1989 album Mind Bomb. O'Connor was born on December 8, 1966, in Glenageary, County Dublin.
O’Connor has been a history-creating music legend – Nothing Compares 2 U from the 1990 is one of the most sublime tunes in musical history, the accompanying film's most striking scene was the single tear dropping from her eye. Both the single and album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got were international blockbusters. Incredibly, she has only had one album chart in the top ten in the United Kingdom in the past 31 years, and none of her singles have ever made the top ten. Nevertheless, her fame endures.
Since then, although continuing her singing career, she has occasionally encountered criticism, partly because of her remarks and actions. These include her ordination as a priest despite being a woman from a Roman Catholic family and her strong opinions on organized religion, women's rights, war, and child abuse. According to the prevalent narrative, a music star's life was derailed when she tore up a photo of the pope on "Saturday Night Live." What if the converse were the case?
Perhaps O'Connor has always been fated to be probably most famous for plainly being courageous and brave: the angelic skinhead who vowed like a warrior and caused a stir with accusations of child sex abuse; a woman who talked about her mental health crises in public; who became a Catholic priest and then converted to Islam; who had four children by four different men, when these things were unprecedented or viewed negatively. Her albums have been notoriously unmarketable, including traditional Irish melodies on Sean-Nós Nua and interpretations of roots reggae on Throw Down Your Arms. There have been excellent, comparatively pop records, such as Universal Mother. Still, even that album had a spoken-word tirade on why the Irish famine was not genuinely a famine and compared the country to a kid who has been molested. O'Connor is perhaps one of the most reticent music stars. When she learned Nothing Compares 2 U was number one, she cried, but not out of joy.
O'Connor's resolute nature is a defining character trait and a key reason she will always be fascinating. O'Connor is a very relatable character because of her vulnerability. Years later, she's often found to have been right. Eleven years ago, O'Connor was a newly exonerated Catholic priest (she had been consecrated by a breakaway church in 1999). She protested the Catholic church's tolerance of child sex abuse by ripping a photo of Pope John Paul II to shreds on Saturday Night Live in 1992. Many people at the time dismissed her as a crazy self-promoter. Her records were publicly burned two weeks later, and she was booed off stage at a Bob Dylan tribute show. However, in 2010, Pope Benedict XVI apologized to Catholic priests' victims of decades of sex abuse in Ireland, expressing "shame and regret" for their "sinful and criminal crimes." She called the Vatican "a den of devils and a shelter for criminals" and said the apology was utterly insufficient.
Because of the context, the filmmakers placed a premium on telling O'Connor's side of the tale and clearing her name of the accusations leveled against her. The film's creators conducted in-depth interviews with the chosen few who had an authentic connection to the subject and could offer a fresh point of view. The producers decided early on that they would not include any talking heads in the film, as they wanted the spectator to be completely involved at all times. A fortunate outcome of this decision was that the interviews could proceed despite the widespread quarantines and travel restrictions imposed due to the pandemic.
The producers wanted the film's aesthetic to reflect O'Connor's boldness, so they took inspiration from the dichotomy between raw wrath and exposed vulnerability seen in many of her songs. The goal was to create a cinematic hybrid documentary that would do justice to O'Connor's tale while also incorporating some of the elements she found most meaningful. Editor Mick Mahon did a fantastic job putting this together. The autobiographical nature of Sinéad's music makes it ideal for propelling the story by highlighting a pivotal moment or introducing a new tone. To accompany Sinéad's music in the film, Irish sisters Linda and Irene Buckley composed an original score.
The overarching goal of this movie is to subvert the convention of portraying rebellious female protagonists in the traditional tragic hero mold. Instead, they were interested in exploring women's significant historical contributions. Most importantly, Nothing Compares is not a typical music documentary; instead, it is a study of a singular performer, her place in Irish history, and the countless lives she has touched. On September 30, Nothing Compares will debut on Showtime's streaming and on-demand services.
