A heartfelt documentary about the Indigo Girls, It’s Only Life After All covers the lives, relationship, activism, and soul-stirring music of two incredibly authentic women.
I first learned about the Indigo Girls in 1994, during my first year in college. One of my new friends was a die-hard fan and I had never heard of them before. So much of their music spoke to me and, with “Closer To Fine” being the college anthem that it is, I was soon listening to them daily. I still play 1200 Curfews (a huge compilation album) all the time – particularly on road trips. It’s just a joyous and rich experience, their music.
It’s Only Life After All is a documentary about the Indigo Girls. Amy Ray and Emily Saliers met in elementary school in Decatur, Georgia, and began playing music together in the years after. Finding a sort of magic with each other, they went on their own ways educationally until they both ended up at Emory University. And that is when the rest of their musical journey took off.
This is a great documentary about two extremely talented women who always were and continue to be exactly who they are. Other than some basic stage makeup, there was never an effort to create a “brand” or wear clothing that would get them noticed. And that is part of what puts them at the level of people like Bob Dylan and Nina Simone in terms of authenticity (in my humble opinion).
Two very different humans, they individually realized that they were gay and experienced their own journeys with those feelings. It was always seen as something that could stunt their growth as musicians with the media, but when both were ready and Emily answered the question of a media outlet affirmatively, Amy said that she’d never been in the closet. They cover this really effectively in the doc.
Amy and Emily started participating in activism very young, and learned much more about how to be effective activists from members of the Native American community, and this is discussed at length. Out there doing the work for LGBTQ+ rights, animal rights, and Native American rights among others, they have also written many songs on lesser discussed topics like capital punishment and the Holocaust.
One of the things that this film does extremely well is to try to quantify something that is an essence that stems from their music. Many people say that the Indigo Girls saved their life or gave them permission to be clean and off drugs or to be their authentic selves. Amy and Emily don’t accept responsibility for the feelings. They know they wrote the songs, but there is this unspoken community of love and understanding within and outside of their music. As Emily says, “You know you’re not alone.”
With Amy’s gravely power and Emily’s smooth warmth, It’s Only Life After All lets you into more than just their music. You get to know them as women, activists, partners, mothers, and very sincere humans. As a side note, and for those of you who have seen Barbie, I have always thought that it was perfect for “Closer To Fine” to be playing as Barbie drove out of Barbieland. She was driving to find the real, authentic, if more challenging and gritty, world. This was the perfect choice.
Runtime: 124 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: MA
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Available: Free on Netflix, to rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
I first learned about the Indigo Girls in 1994, during my first year in college. One of my new friends was a die-hard fan and I had never heard of them before. So much of their music spoke to me and, with “Closer To Fine” being the college anthem that it is, I was soon listening to them daily. I still play 1200 Curfews (a huge compilation album) all the time – particularly on road trips. It’s just a joyous and rich experience, their music.
