Annie Lennox: Totally Diva ^9.5

Overview

This DVD, an expanded version of the Grammy-winning 1992 video companion to Annie Lennox's solo debut, belongs on the short list of long-form videos that achieve the stylistic and thematic cohesion of a great album. In its audio incarnation, Diva isn't tied to a formally structured concept, yet its songs probe a clutch of interwoven themes, oscillating between spirit and flesh as the Scottish singer muses over ruined relationships, vain ambitions, and quests for love and identity in alternately teasing and tormented performances. On video, director Sophie Muller loosely integrates the songs through overlapping imagery, allowing costuming, locations, or lighting to supply a dreamlike coherence in lieu of more conventional plot or character.