Ozzy: No Escape from Now

There are no bats, no wild-man shenanigans, and no freakin’ Kardashians here. This Ozzy is at his most exposed, and No Escape From Now allows us to bear witness to the rock icon’s last years onstage and at home as he comes to terms with the long list of demons both real and imagined that have finally caught up with him. The Parkinson’s diagnosis, spinal operations, sobriety challenges, depression, weight loss, and a persistent body that just wants to give in: they’re all laid out for the world to see and with a startling frankness, Ozzy is honest. Heartbreakingly, hilariously, refreshingly honest.

Opening and closing the film with the Osbourne family, wife Sharon, daughter Kelly, son Jack, and little seen daughter Aimee, all play important roles in providing a much-needed counterbalance to the Ozmaniac’s bravado. Their love, anger, and care for a husband, father, and celebrity still unfolding in real-time serves as a poignant reminder that no matter how rich and famous, a family is never truly safe from tragedy or loss. Sharon in particular emerges as the guide and moral compass. As Ozzy’s longtime manager and wife, she is equal parts stern, spousal, and soldier.

Though the camera can only linger so long on a septuagenarian struggling to move around, Ozzy Osbourne is still an artist. The moments of intimacy as he sits in the vocal booth during recording sessions for his latest album Patient Number 9 or in rehearsal with producer Andrew Watt, guitar hero Tony Iommi, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, and bandmate Robert Trujillo are brief but essential to not just his story, but the documentary itself. To see Ozzy sitting at the mic, half in tears and fully terrified of his own frailty as the Parkinson’s tremors rattle his body in rhythm with his soul is crushing and oddly, heartening.

The story that has been his life culminates in the singer’s efforts to walk and take the stage for one final bow at Birmingham’s Villa Park. Not a show; just one last chance for the singer to exit the building under his own two legs while fans cheer him on one final time. Each step is a question; each breath a gamble, not just on his own life, but on whether it would even be possible to continue making Ozzy Osbourne albums. He survives, and when we cut to the show itself, it’s not so much the arena spectacle that will hit you as the complete and utter silence that falls after the first note.