Dolly Parton: Here I Am

2019 1h 29m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 40

DocumentaryMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Dolly Parton leads a moving, musical journey in this documentary that details the people and places who have helped shape her iconic career.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Dolly Parton
Self
Kylie Minogue
Self
Mac Davis
Self
Jane Fonda
Self
Lily Tomlin
Self
Jerry Douglas
Self
Linda Perry
Self
Kent Wells
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Francis Whately
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Francis Whately, shot by Justin Evans. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Anna Price shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dolly Parton and Kylie Minogue and Mac Davis carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt11497544 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 40 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Francis Whately directs. Justin Evans behind the camera. Anna Price cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 7 years ago.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Francis Whately, shot by Justin Evans. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Anna Price shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Dolly Parton and Kylie Minogue and Mac Davis carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt11497544 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 40 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Justin Evans
Editing: Anna Price
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Dolly Parton: Here I Am (2019)

Also by

Francis Whately

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Community reviews

What people are saying

YouShouldKnow2025-01-05
★ 4/10
Dolly Parton is an amazing musician and I know she had to go through significant hardships due to her appearance, and that's what I wanted to see in this documentary. However, this is more a series of interviews with friends (?) of hers retelling their memories with a few pictures and some videos through time to support them. It's not really my style as it keeps jumping back and forth between the past and present, as opposed to a documentary that has a steady flow of past events all the way to the present. As such, the documentary is not for me, even though it was an interesting peek into her life.
CinemaSerf2026-01-26
★ 6/10
There is something really quite manicured about this film on Dolly Parton, and at no point did I feel that we were learning anything about her that wasn’t already in the public domain or that she didn’t want us to know. What it does show us is an expertly curated compendium of her appearances, though, and right from her early appearances with Porter Wagoner she comes across as a woman determined to make it on her own terms. Her lyrics clearly demonstrate her views about the role of women in the family and in society, but she is not an overt feminist. Indeed, though she readily acknowldges her friendships with folks of colour or who are gay, she is shrewd enough to appreciate that those “who love her” (as Jane Fonda put it) might well be deeply and politically conservative, and so she keeps her powder dry - publicly, at least - on matters that might see her bite the hands that feed her. As it progressed, I didn't feel any the wiser about whom this lady really is, beyond the self-deprecating charmer that she constantly portrays. Even her co-stars from “Nine to Five” (1980) admit they never saw her without her “regalia” and many of the musicians who had worked with her for years had never met her husband, nor give the impression that they were ever her intimates. It wasn't that I wanted anything salacious, nor even gossipy, but something quite this well planned and executed only exposes one side of the performer to us, and for that we could just have watched a few of her concerts. She hints at a few more personal elements, and you wonder if “Jolene”, for example, is partly autobiographical, but these are but crumbs for anyone wishing to get to know the real Dolly Parton. It’s watchable enough, but I felt it more of an obituary in waiting made by a star who wanted to make sure she was remembered how she wanted to be.