The world wasn\u2019t quite ready when Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor ripped up Pope John Paul II\u2019s photograph protesting the Catholic church\u2019s child abuse accusations in front of Saturday Night Live\u2019s audience in 1992. Her action was met with a barrage of hatred and doomed her once-thriving career.<\/p>\n
But the Sundance premiere of the documentary Nothing Compares<\/strong> captured the singer\u2019s strong personality and offered audiences a portrait of one of the most compelling and prophetic artists of the past few decades.<\/p>\n Director Kathryn Ferguson uses a mix of archival footage and poignant reenactments to take us down the anguished memory of her abusive childhood, focusing on her mother\u2019s cruelty which led her to the unimaginable circumstances of being institutionalized \u2014 something which scarred her spirit. The institution in question was known as the Magdalene laundries, a place adminstered by a notorious order of nuns whose outrageous treatment of young women \u2014 with hard labor, violence and sexual abuse.<\/p>\n The now closed place was a nightmarish world which ignored human rights, and left the young Sinead with a grim image of a shattered mirror that most of us never have to experience. To an untamed singer ready to unleash her voice in the world, this experience affected her performance, songwriting and response to the music business.<\/p>\n The film spans the years from the release of O\u2019Connor\u2019s 1987 debut album, \u201cThe Lion and The Cobra,\u201d to her enormously successful adaptation of Prince\u2019s \u201cNothing Compares 2 U.\u201d The film effectively illustrates not only her talent, but an in-your-face approach that provided the catchy headlines and the sensational news to readers. We\u2019ve never grown up in the turmoil of a predominantly Roman Catholic Ireland in \u201860s as Sin\u00e9ad did, so it\u2019s no surprise that people reacted to her as they did.<\/p>\n Of course, for Americans who consider the United States to be the best place in the world, it’s easy to mistake her behavior as being unpatriotic and ill-mannered. Not singing the American national anthem, or cutting the Pope’s picture into pieces on a popular TV program (because people throughout the world believe he represents God) made her action seem all the more blasphemous.<\/p>\n She has often been unfairly dismissed as an attention-seeking pop star, but the rough-and-tumble life of such an artist ultimately makes sense when viewed through this film\u2019s lens.<\/p>\n O \u2018Connor Is a singer who never wanted to be a pop star. She doesn\u2019t fit into the smooth flowing notion of a pop star but are Americans kidding themselves?<\/p>\n She\u2019s been patronized and dis-regarded. Even though a certain emptiness came with her stardom, the film never makes a saint out of Sin\u00e9ad, but provides a context for her actions and makes a powerful case for her. So when you look at Lady Gaga or Billie Eilish in today\u2019s world, you see a little bit of the sparks of Sin\u00e9ad\u00a0 in them, especially for women artists who freely speak their mind.<\/p>\n Now also known as Shuhada Sadaqat after converting to Islam, O\u2019Connor has continued to face tough times including the unfathomable tragedy of her son\u2019s recent suicide. Maybe, it\u2019s time American audiences offer her a more compassionate response.<\/p>\n Final Grade B+<\/p>\n