Britney vs Spears, the Netflix documentary from journalist Jenny Eliscu and filmmaker Erin Lee Carr tackling Britney Spears’ conservatorship, is the latest in a slate of films covering the subject. The film’s marketing posits that it exposes the truth about the conservatorship with exclusive interviews and leaked confidential documents, however the film sometimes feels more exploitative than investigative and fails to deliver many notable and reliable revelations.
In part, this is due to the unfortunate timing of the film’s release. The New York Times with FX and Hulu released not one, but two Britney Spears documentaries from director Samantha Stark and producer Liz Day—the most recent of which, Controlling Britney Spears, surprise-dropped just days ahead of the Netflix documentary’s release date. It’s a repeat of what happened last year with the two streamers’ competing Fyre Festival films. Viewers should by no means feel the need to watch all three Britney Spears documentaries as there is a lot of content overlap, however it makes for an interesting comparison.
The New York Times premiered Framing Britney Spears back in February and brought widespread awareness to Britney’s conservatorship, which has controlled every aspect of the pop singer’s life for over thirteen years. Framing Britney Spears ignited conversation and drew more attention to the recent court hearings involving Britney’s fight to remove her father Jamie Spears as a conservator and end the conservatorship altogether.
After the summer’s explosive court hearings, which included Britney’s first public statements against the conservatorship, Netflix and The New York Times with FX and Hulu released documentaries that present an inside look at the conservatorship. Both films aim to shed light on Britney’s situation and highlight the media’s harassment and toxic impact on her life, but there’s an undeniable irony in the films’ obsessive desire to expose the details of Britney’s life under conservatorship that leaves viewers somewhat uncomfortable with the intrusion. Netflix’s Britney vs Spears even positions itself at times like a true crime story; there are many sequences of Eliscu and Carr talking together while peering at redacted legal documents and photographs with sticky notes identifying key players like suspects in a juicy murder mystery.
Controlling Britney Spears relies heavily on interviews with Britney’s former personal assistant Felicia Culotta and head of wardrobe Tish Yates, both of whom describe their close friendship with Britney and first-hand accounts of her mistreatment. Britney vs Spears presents interviews with parties on different sides including Kevin Federline’s divorce attorney, Britney’s paparazzo ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib, and controversial character Sam Lutfi, Britney’s former manager and friend. Britney vs Spears takes the unusual angle of portraying Ghalib and Lutfi as heroes in Britney’s story, fighting for her freedom. Many of the interviews in Britney vs Spears leave viewers wary, questioning the reliability and motivations of the interviewees and even the filmmakers. For example, while Culotta is an eager chatterbox in Framing Britney Spears and Controlling Britney Spears, she appears very guarded and tight-lipped in her Britney vs Spears interview. It’s an odd contrast that raises red flags for viewers.
Most compelling in Britney vs Spears are revelations gleaned from leaked court documents provided anonymously to the filmmakers and the interviews with David Chicotel, a conservatorship attorney. He provides more context and understanding around the concept and implementation of conservatorships in general, explaining them as a last resort measure once all alternative options have been exhausted. Chicotel further notes that of the many conservatees he’s represented, not one of them has ever had a job. Meanwhile, Elicu explains that the legal documents reference Britney’s conservatorship as a ‘hybrid business model,’ and that the box for dementia was ticked off in the section indicating reasons for placing Britney in a conservatorship.
Controlling Britney Spears contains an even bigger bombshell. Alex Vlasov, a former member of the Black Box Security team hired by the conservatorship to protect Britney, alleges in an interview that security and Jamie Spears spied on Britney, placing a listening device in her bedroom and monitoring her cell phone activity including secretly reading her text messages. It’s a shocking allegation and the documentary eats it up, relying heavily on Vlasov’s interview testimony.
Both Controlling Britney Spears and Britney vs Spears provide insight into the dark underbelly of Britney’s conservatorship and the system that has enabled it to exist for over thirteen years. However, what both films so desperately want, and lack, is the story from Britney herself. They both play clips from her court testimony, but it’s not the same. And given that Britney recently criticized the documentaries and the media industry’s continued scrutiny of her life, I wouldn’t hold out hope for a tell-all interview anytime soon.
Controlling Britney Spears and Framing Britney Spears are available to watch in Canada on Crave, while Britney vs Spears is streaming on Netflix.