Mystify: Michael Hutchence review – enlightening and affecting

There’s a kinship between this charged portrait of the charismatic INXS frontman Michael Hutchence and Amy, Asif Kapadia’s Amy Winehouse documentary. It’s not so much the shared tragic trajectory of the two stars, more the fact that both films expose the British media at their most salacious and savage, and both draw on a cache of candid video material shot by the subject and their inner circle. The latter is a key element in the success of Mystify – we frequently view Hutchence through a friendly lens rather than the increasingly hostile ones that surrounded him. The result is enlightening and affecting, providing a missing piece in the puzzle of a life prematurely ended.