It’s clear within the first half hour of Bright Lights that Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher were a mother and daughter with two highly disparate personalities. Directed by Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens, the documentary (which was released on HBO on January 7, shortly after the back-to-back deaths of both of its stars) casts Carrie Fisher as an old soul with an acerbic sense of humor and a dark outlook shaped by familial dysfunction. We learn about her battles with bipolar disorder and the history of drug abuse she overcame in her last decade. The original Star Wars blockbusters were her biggest film successes, and while being the former Princess Leia kept her in the collective consciousness and was a source of income decades after the films were released, it overshadowed all other roles she took and certainly contributed to her cynicism about show business.
