The new documentary about the late music producer is causing controversy as those close to him are outraged at the way Avicii was portrayed in it.
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Available on Netflix since December 31, 2024, the documentary I’m Timwhich chronicles the life of Tim Bergling (Avicii) has since been at the heart of discussions among electronic music fans, and not necessarily for the right reasons.
The platform of streaming presents the film to us as follows:
“Before Avicii, there was Tim. Be guided by his own words, and discover how this musical prodigy became one of the defining artists of his generation.”
What we need to know, however, is that through extracts from Avicii’s life and interviews with those around him, it also shows the mental health concerns that the artist dealt with following his rise in popularity. Many listeners were touched by this aspect of the documentary, devastated to have lost such a brilliant star to spiraling anxiety and depression. Others instead saw these on-screen moments as disrespectful and made it known.
But first, a first criticism that was stated repeatedly was that this feature film only mostly reproduced information already shared in the documentary Avicii: True Stories. The latter was released five years ago, a few months preceding the unfortunate death of Avicii, who took his own life.
However, it was Tim’s friends who had the most to say about this portrait of his life. Sean Eriksson, one of his good friends who lived with him, expressed his dissatisfaction, which explains his absence from the documentary. Having known Tim and his situation well, he feels that his story has not been well represented, particularly his relationship with his father, Klas Bergling.
He reacted by affirming that one of Klas’s statements, recounting an intervention made for Avicii’s psychological health, is completely false. According to him, the father gave more importance to his son’s presence at various shows and events to amass money and success, than to his well-being.
Not stopping there, he also puts another friend of Tim, Jesse Waits, in the hot seat. The latter spoke about the producer’s dependence on painkillers without giving a lot of context on the matter. However, as Sean mentions, there were many key elements that should have been mentioned for the situation to be portrayed correctly: those would be Tim’s surgeries, as a result of his drinking and pancreatitis, and the pain he was going through. endured which would have been the main reasons for his dependence on drugs.
Moreover, businessman David Yazdani also supported these assertions. Disgusted, he mentions that when Avicii refused contracts, Klas used “manipulative tactics with people close to him to get him to change his mind”, and that he was “the worst father”.
Several netizens echoed this sentiment, disappointed that his story was not shown in full, with several significant Avicii moments missing. In fact, in a September post, Sean discussed his frustration on the subject before the public knew the documentary was on the way:
“Tim’s story has yet to be told. At least, not by those close to him. I’m really fed up with this bizarre, false and controlled narrative that makes Tim the symbol of sanity instead of honoring his legacy for all of his great accomplishments and the amazing person that he was.”
The docu-film therefore finds itself in the middle of a debate: the Web wonders if this look back on his life is a touching tribute, or if it is clumsy, recounting Tim’s difficulties from an outside perspective which sometimes rings false . Moreover, many people have mentioned that the documentary Avicii: True Storieshe gave more intense and poignant details about Avicii’s mental health, while celebrating his considerable influence on music. It is also this documentary that, according to David Yazani, Tim wanted to leave behind as a souvenir of his life.
Regardless, this documentary leaves Avicii fans with a bittersweet feeling, from the nostalgia connected to their favorite artist to the sad reality of his passing. As for his personal situation, however, we must accept that it will never be completely enlightened.
