Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles

Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles has built a real following in Australia on Disney Plus, and in the US on Disney Plus among viewers who want documentaries that actually inform. It says what it needs to say in one sitting, no filler. An 8/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Rigorous in a way documentary storytelling does not always commit to. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Disney Plus.

There is a reason Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles keeps coming up in conversation. The access Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles gets is remarkable — and the storytelling does full justice to it. Fresh off the heels of her brand-new album, "Happier Than Ever," this cinematic concert experience features an intimate performance of every song in the album's sequential order – for the first and only time – from the stage of the legendary Hollywood Bowl. Billie Eilish and Gustavo Dudamel lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2021. The restraint in Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles is what makes it trustworthy — it does not need to editorialise to make its point. The hit rate here is high enough that skipping ahead never feels like an option.

Anyone after documentary work that genuinely informs rather than confirms will value Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. The subject drives every choice here, not the other way around. The kind of production you finish and immediately want to read more about.