Marianne Faithfull is telling her own story, in her own words.
The late singer, who died at age 78 in January, was best known for a slew of hits, including “As Tears Go By,” which was written by the Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, with whom she had a several-year romance.
Now, a documentary about her life called “Broken English,” named after her 1979 album, has been released. It premiered on Saturday at the Venice Film Festival. The project was shot before her death last winter.
The film is directed by Jane Pollard and Iain Forsyth, and acts like an episode of the 1955 television series “This is Your Life.”
Tilda Swinton serves as a host who introduces the players in the doc while George MacKay is tasked with reviewing Faithfull’s life with her.
At one point, the British star, who was Jagger’s muse while they were together in the late ’60s, is shown an old interview clip by MacKay, 33, where she talks about chaos and anarchy.
“The night before I did this interview, Mick and I had taken LSD, and maybe that affected me,” she explained to the actor. “But I think that some of my opinions and all that caused a lot of trouble — that I talked too much, too openly, and eventually what happened was that they came down on us.”
Faithfull was originally married to artist John Dunbar in 1965 and had a son, but left Dunbar for Jagger. They dated for four years before splitting.
The artist also addressed an incident that happened during her addiction to cocaine and heroin. Faithfull was found naked, wrapped in a fur rug, during a 1967 police search of Richards’ home, alongside the guitarist, Jagger and six other men, per the Guardian.
“It never occurred to me that the powers that be would ever do something like that, walk into Keith’s house and arrest us,” she explained. “I think Mick worried. He was quite straight…. I really was like that [a rock & roll rebel]. I was very anarchic.”
Along with exploring her past relationships, the doc also touched on Faithfull’s musical talents and creative process.
“I hate what’s happened,” the songwriter added about the health issues she had in her final years.
“Marianne died before we could finish this,” Swinton, 64, is seen saying. “But before she left us, she did manage to record a music performance. We weren’t to know at the time that this would be her last performance ever made.”
“Our fearless friend is gone,” she stated. “Gone and not forgotten.”
Faithfull appears on the screen to perform her 2018 song “Misunderstanding,” alongside Australian singer Nick Cave who played the piano and did backup vocals.
“Love is real,” Faithfull sings. “Love is here. The only thing I know for sure. Love last longer. Have no fear. Only you have such allure. Only you have such allure.”
In January, Faithfull’s spokesperson announced her tragic death.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull,” they said in a statement.
“Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family. She will be dearly missed.”
Shortly after, Jagger, 82, broke his silence on his ex’s sudden passing.
“I am so saddened to hear of the death of Marianne Faithfull,” the rocker wrote on Instagram. “She was so much part of my life for so long. She was a wonderful friend, a beautiful singer and a great actress. She will always be remembered.”
According to the Guardian, the singer, being a muse for Rolling Stones, once told Jagger, “Wild horses couldn’t drag me away,” which inspired the band’s classic “Wild Horses.”
Her drug struggles were also the inspiration behind the hits “Dear Doctor” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”
Faithfull shared, per the outlet, “I know they used me as a muse for those tough drug songs. I knew I was being used, but it was for a worthy cause.”
In the early ’70s, the rocker lost custody of her son, broke up with Jagger and was homeless.
Faithfull lived on the streets of Soho in London as she tried to get clean.
“I’d been living in a very fake sort of world in the ’60s,” she detailed in 2016. “Suddenly, when I was living on the streets … I realized that human beings were really good. The Chinese restaurant let me wash my clothes there. The man who had the tea stall gave me cups of tea.”
After slowly turning her life around, Faithfull returned to music with the 1976 country album “Dreamin’ My Dreams.”
She quit drugs for good in 1985 and continued to release music.
Faithfull married and divorced two more times in her life. First, she tied the knot with Ben Brierly of the punk band the Vibrators and then to actor Giorgio Della Terza.
