‘Janis’ takes a comprehensive look at a music legend

‘Janis’ takes a comprehensive look at a music legend

Somewhere between the music star’s high school report cards and Grateful Dead member Bob Weir telling us she was “not real quiet in the sack” (he was an audio witness, not a participant) the documentary achieves its goal of adding detail and dimension to the mythical figure.

The film is also clumsy at times, and lacks the emotional heft of its spiritual cousin, the Amy Winehouse documentary “Amy” (also released in 2015).

There’s enough to keep more casual fans interested, and devotees of the singer will be blown away — excited to find new angles and stories they didn’t know before.

Director Amy Berg takes a comprehensive approach, covering the singer from her childhood in Port Arthur, Texas, to her death at age 27 of a heroin overdose.

Stories are told by the singer’s family and friends, and celebrities in Joplin’s orbit including music producer Clive Davis, documentarian D.A. Pennebaker and talk show host Dick Cavett.

“She was very afraid of drugs,” says drummer Dave Getz, a theme reinforced by other Joplin friends, and one of several stereotype-breaking disclosures in the film.

A point of view clip of a train on railroad tracks going nowhere is used repeatedly, trying to make us feel a little more about a subject who is otherwise kept at arm’s length.