Vague Visages’ Lee Fields: Faithful Man review contains minor spoilers. Jessamyn Ansary and Joyce Mishaan’s 2022 documentary features Lee Fields. Check out the VV home page for more film reviews, along with cast/character summaries, streaming guides and complete soundtrack song listings.

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Spiritual creatures of American pop culture both destroy and revive musical trends. Unfortunately, many big voices get silenced for one reason or another, only to re-emerge with a brand new bag of tricks. Legendary soul singers like Otis Redding and Sam Cooke remain cultural icons, partly because of their untimely deaths during the 60s, but will they be remembered by music historians in 100 years? And what about an enduring singer like Lee Fields — perhaps the most talented spiritual creature of 60s soul music who never received a big break until decades later? Filmmakers Jessamyn Ansary and Joyce Mishaan created a spellbinding musical document with Lee Fields: Faithful Man, a film about a hungry entertainer who refuses to walk away quietly from his spectacular recording career.

Shifting timelines in Lee Fields: Faithful Man spotlight the subject’s fighter mentality and relevance in 2020s pop culture. Whereas most documentarians immediately begin with origin stories, Ansary and Mishaan wisely introduce viewers to Fields with a shockingly outstanding 2019 live performance in New York City. The moment at once showcases the subject’s enduring talent while raising questions about his cultural identity. Who the heck is Lee Fields? After a strong opening sequence, the co-directors turn back the clock as the subject recalls his journey from Greene County, North Carolina to New York City, along with all the musicians who inspired him, such as Jimmy Reed, Hank Ballard, Little Richard, Fats Domino and Hank Williams Sr.

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Beyond all the brilliant archival footage in Lee Fields: Faithful Man, low-angle concert cinematography accentuates the subject’s throwback performance style and ability to entrance a crowd. When paired when segments about Fields’ country roots (he grew up in a shanty/customized speakeasy), the stage sequences infuse the documentary with some extra grit. And there’s something special in the subject’s devilish grin that reminds of so many heavy-duty performers who thrive on the biggest stages — it’s that cool confidence. “I’m not strong enough to quit,” Fields says during a second-half scene — a moment that speaks to his legacy and spirituality.

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Fields, who experienced a career revival in the 2000s, speaks openly about death and his initial hesitancy to collaborate with relatively young producers. These moments expand the narrative with commentaries about the music industry as a whole, all the while linking the subject to modern artists like the late Amy Winehouse and Sharon Jones. If there’s a glaring weak spot in Ansary and Mishaan’s documentary, it’s the massive timeline jumps that come and go over 76 minutes without offering deep insight into the subject’s psychology beyond his fighter mentality. Perhaps an extra 10 or 15 minutes would’ve revealed more truths about Fields the man.

However, an extended middle-act sequence in Lee Fields: Faithful Man communicates the essence of the subject’s persona as he sings along to his own song, “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” while wearing an Air Jordan beanie and looking forward through a window, with a surrounding forest hinting at his North Carolina upbringing. Fields seemingly speaks to various versions of himself — from the past and future — as he keeps on keepin’ on, searching for the next big opportunity, and perhaps thinking about a great gig in the sky.

Lee Fields: Faithful Man released digitally on February 27, 2024 via Gravitas Ventures.

Q.V. Hough (@QVHough) is Vague Visages’ founding editor.

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