‘My Mind & Me’: a ‘rare’ look into Selena Gomez

It’s easy to feel tired of the endless onslaught of celebrity documentaries released every year. Unless you’re a die-hard Selenator, the announcement of  “Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me” may have simply been another headline to scroll past. But “My Mind & Me” differentiates itself from other celebrity documentaries in the fray, aiming higher and reaching its goal perfectly. While on a surface level, the film follows the same trope of peeking behind the curtain to reveal the dark side of a celebrity’s seemingly glamorous life, Gomez’s story has a way of lingering in your mind. 

Although originally slated to be a documentary about Gomez’s 2016 Revival Tour, the documentary developed into a journal chronicling Gomez’s mental health battle over the last six years. After Gomez canceled the tour due to depression and anxiety, the documentary revealed another reason Gomez never dressed — she suffered a psychotic break. 

Director Alek Keshishian initially believed there was no future for the film. But in 2019, Gomez invited Keshishian to film again. It was then that the movie took a turn — it would not be the story of Gomez’s career successes or a fight against controversies, but instead the story of a woman’s healing journey. 

“She was just out of the mental health facility, she had been diagnosed as bipolar, and I could see that there was so much hope in her, but also that she was still in recovery herself,” Keshishian said. “And she wasn’t entirely out of the woods, so to speak. She was trying to figure out what her purpose was and what she wanted in her life.” 

Keshishian describes his style as “cinéma vérité,” meaning he films everything. And at times, this can make the documentary uncomfortable to watch. Although Gomez consented to this when they first began filming, Keshishian began to feel that some moments were insensitive to film and didn’t want to cause Gomez any more stress. It was Gomez that requested that even her lowest moments, specifically in relation to her lupus, be filmed.

“She wanted people to see that rawness and that she’s going through pain. That’s not only physical, but also psychological pain,” Keshishian said. 

At times, Keshishian filmed using just his phone camera, with no other members of the crew in the room. The trust between Gomez and Keshishian is clear, as Gomez never seems to concern herself with the camera in the room. She openly fights with her friends, cries and delves into her struggles with bipolar depression. 

“The film is not just for people suffering [with] mental health. I think that people might be suffering [with] mental health, but it could just be that they’re feeling dark and isolated,” Keshishian said. “We’re living in a very isolated world, and I think that this movie reminds us of the power of human connection.”

While the film is clearly about superstar Selena Gomez, the end product is so much greater than that. Any self-commissioned documentary tends to have a twinge of narcissism, but Gomez and Keshishian somehow manage to dodge the overdone self-pitying fame trope. That’s not to say public figures don’t deserve to share a documentary about themselves, but “My Mind & Me” shouldn’t be put in the same category. 

Any person coming to the film for juicy gossip on Gomez’s exes or rumors will be sorely disappointed. “My Mind & Me” demands attention throughout its 95-minute runtime, never resorting to filler footage, fulfilling their promise to speak about mental health with no limits.  

“Our hope is, especially for some people that might not know what’s going on with them, and/or may feel isolated or depressed, there is a message of hope in this film,” Keshishian said. “And there is a message that says, you can get better, and that it can be difficult, but you shouldn’t lose hope.” 

“Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me” premieres on Nov. 4 on Apple TV+.