Icon, beyond a doubt. Trailblazer, always. But even though Sir Elton John has held the bright spotlight of fame for decades, there’s still much of his life behind those spectacular scenes that we haven’t yet glimpsed. Until now.

Co-directed by R.J. Cutler (The September Issue, Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry) and John’s husband, documentarian and Torontonian David Furnish, this is a portrait of the artist as he looks back on his life and forward to a climactic farewell show at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium.

We begin at that same stadium, but in 1975 at the first peak of John’s fame, when he played to more than 100,000 fans over two nights. In retrospect, he notes, “There was an emptiness within me.” Weaving together intimate interviews with never-before-seen archival footage and photographs, Cutler and Furnish slowly reveal the megastar, from his prodigious childhood talent, through all his self doubts and demons, to where he has landed today. “This is where you start to think about mortality,” the 77-year-old says, and it proves to be a powerful motivator to take stock.

Fans will know some of this story from John’s autobiography and the Rocketman biopic. But nothing beats the rare images on display here, or the star’s own candour.

Even with the highs, lows, and heartbreak John recounts, the deepest emotional impact comes from the love and family that little Reginald Dwight found at last with Furnish, and continues to share with the world.

Content advisory: drug use