(L-R) Amy Berg, Mary Guibert, and Ben Harper attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival “It’s Not Over, Jeff Buckley” premiere The Ray Theatre. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Jessica Herndon
Somebody could have heard the sound of a pin dropping in the few brief seconds before the crowd erupted into rapturous cheers following Ben Harper’s performance of “Hallelujah” after the January 24 premiere of Amy Berg’s documentary It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. His slide guitar solo of the song Jeff Buckley is known for is utterly beautiful. “I only [perform this song] ever so often as a tribute to Jeff,” he says. The late singer’s rendition is one that continually moves Harper. “If there ever is a college dissertation about how to turn a song into a hymn, Jeff Buckley and ‘Hallelujah’ — that’s the intro,” he added.
Director Berg returns to the Festival with an emotional documentary about Buckley that delves into the life and legacy of the late singer-songwriter. Known for his incredible vocal range and groundbreaking 1994 album Grace, Buckley became an icon before his untimely death in 1997. Berg paints a layered portrait of the artist with a blend of never-before-seen footage, intimate voice messages, and firsthand accounts from those closest to him.
Berg ventures into Buckley’s story and anchors it through the loves of his life, including former girlfriends Rebecca Moore and Joan Wasser, of Joan As Police Woman. “After I spent time with the archive, reading his letters, and listening to his messages, I thought telling his story through his love stories would be true to Jeff,” Berg says.
In the doc, Berg weaves together the complexities of Buckley’s personality, from his raw artistry to his discontent with fame. Though the world marveled at his talents, Buckley struggled with the pressure of living up to the hype and was frequently at odds with the superficiality of celebrity, like when he famously despised being named one of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People. The film lets us see the deeper side of the man behind the legend — one shaped by love, loss, depression, joy, and a fierce desire to connect on his terms. The documentary offers a tender look at Buckley through the eyes of friends, family, and collaborators, like his mother, musician Mary Guibert, and Ben Harper, who graces the post-premiere audience with his musical tribute.
Impacted by a range of artists, from Led Zeppelin to Nina Simone to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Buckley’s versatile style influenced generations of musicians. To his core, his artistic integrity was paramount, and the documentary reveals his fight for autonomy as he faced the overwhelming expectation of quickly releasing new material after the success of Grace. He frequently grappled with the balance between staying true to his creative vision and meeting the demands of the industry.
The film also explores Buckley’s complicated relationship with his estranged father, musician Tim Buckley, whose shadow loomed over Jeff’s early career. Though his father’s legacy was inescapable, the singer was determined to make his own path. But as Buckley’s success grew, so did his struggles. The documentary unpacks his decision to retreat to Memphis, where he sought to escape the chaos of fame and reclaim his anonymity. “Without ordinary life, there is no art,” he often said. While in Memphis, Buckley began to experience haunting visions of death, later understood to be symptoms of psychosis and manic depression (now known as bipolar disorder). Yet, despite these challenges, he’d been inspired to create new music until his life was tragically cut short by an unexpected drowning.
In It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, Berg clears up misconceptions about the singer’s death, offering a loving, respectful reflection that captures the essence of Buckley’s brief life and his lasting impact on the music world.
