Director Nico Ballesteros compiles more than 3,000 hours of footage, recorded over six years, for a documentary that offers an unfiltered and often shocking look at music's most polarizing figure.
At the end of "In Whose Name?", the Nico Ballesteros-directed documentary covering six years of Kanye West's life, the rapper steps back from narrative to address the challenges of editing. "We don't know if we've put the story together," West says in a voiceover. "If you document every moment of my life, almost awake, and sometimes asleep, and don't understand the storyline, the world won't understand it. It'll just seem crazy or it'll be one farce after another, as the media portrays it."
Director: Nico BallesterosWriters: Nico Ballesteros, Shy RanjeStar: Ye
However, "In Whose Name?" lacks a solid storyline, beyond its linearity. The film attempts to weave more than 3,000 hours of footage collected between 2018 and 2024 into an unflinching portrait of West, a constant flashpoint for controversy, usually sparked by his own hand. At first glance, the documentary maintains its momentum simply because of access—one might wonder why Ballesteros, who was 18 when he began filming, was allowed to follow him—but the film as a whole is as tedious and frustrating as West himself, a figure so deeply confident in his opinions, yet so clueless.
West declares from the outset that "In Whose Name?" is a film about mental health, and it is, by and large. He declares that he's been off his medication for months and that he's finally feeling like himself. But what "In Whose Name?" communicates most is that West is a public figure so conditioned by his fame that one wonders if he's Victor Frankenstein or the monster. Throughout the film, he's surrounded by artists and political commentators who constantly pander to his every whim (Chris Rock, Pharrell Williams, Drake, and David Letterman, to name a few). It's clear that his fame is a tool that wields power over everyone around him, attracting those who seek proximity to his fame or, more cynically, try to take advantage of it.
Very few have the courage to contradict him, as he asks to be called. And it's in these moments that he shows himself at his most human and the film triumphs. Swizz Beatz chides West for wearing a customized MAGA hat during a studio session, while Michael Che confronts him backstage at a "Saturday Night Live" taping about comments he made on the show. "That was bullshit," Che says. "Why are you going to criticize me if I don't get a chance to say anything?" West stutters in response before Consequence, an old associate, steps in to ease the tension.
Those who oppose West aren't always met with fairness, and several moments in "In Whose Name?" are truly shocking, as he spirals out of control. Early on, he unleashes a full-throated tirade against Kris Jenner for going back on her medication, reducing her to tears. In Uganda, his cousin asks him not to mention politician Bobi Wine. "Fuck you!" he suddenly shouts. As she stands up to leave, he orders her to sit back down, and she obeys—a revealing dynamic. "You're trying to tell me what to do. You're trying to change my mind. None of you can change my mind!" he yells, stamping his feet with each word for emphasis.
Kim Kardashian, his now ex-wife, is a crucial figure in grounding West at his most uncontrolled and comes across as the most rational figure in the film, or in his life. She takes his temper in stride, but we gradually see how it weighs on her. (Their divorce is mentioned in passing.) In Uganda, she sits next to West's cousin after his outburst, wiping away tears with a handkerchief. "There comes a time when people say no. I get said no every day, and I don't scream and throw a tantrum. That's not normal." "But that's my personality!" he says. She responds, "But your personality wasn't like that a few years ago!"
"In Whose Name?" unfolds in three acts and an epilogue. It follows West through all the milestones we've witnessed as an astonished audience, with never-before-seen clips. We see West visit the White House to meet with President Donald Trump and are treated to gorgeous, textured footage of his Sunday services. Ballesteros is present when West joins Joel Osteen onstage at a megachurch and performs in a prison. The camera rolls as West lies in a futuristic bed with Elon Musk, awkwardly comparing his relationship woes.
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