“Tom Petty: Somewhere You Feel Free” Review

-Allison McCulloch

89 mins. | USA | 2021

Rating: 8/10

Celebrate Tom Petty’s birthday by checking out the documentary Tom Petty: Somewhere You Feel Free. It has a theatrical release TODAY, Wednesday, October 20, 2021 and will be showing tomorrow as well. 

“After this record, I’m divorcing your mother.”

Somewhere You Feel Free chronicles the making of Tom Petty’s solo album: Wildflowers. If you’re a huge Tom Petty fan like me and have seen Peter Bogdanovich’s 4 hour and 19 minute documentary Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin’ Down a Dream, the question is do you need or want to see another Tom Petty documentary? The answer is YES.

Petty wanted to be free of the democratic process and grow artistically and independently. He also went to therapy for the first time during the breakup of his marriage which informed the album that became Wildflowers. Most of the footage was shot on 16mm between 1993 and 1995. Benmont Tech (keyboardist for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) is on-screen saying that he thought Tom Petty was a great songwriter. Petty’s daughters Adria and AnnaKim Violette Petty are also interviewed; Adria serves as an executive producer for the film.

Watching the whole process of how the album was made is incredible. It’s also moving since Tom Petty passed on in 2017. The material feels fresh despite the footage being 25 years old. It’s definitely recommended for true fans and anyone with an interest in music and how record companies work.

Nashville: The documentary will be showing at AMC Thoroughbred 20, Belcourt Theatre, Regal Green Hills, Regal Opry Mills