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Michael Jackson is loving and suffering in the documentary This Is It. Loving because he’s adoring his fans and giving us 100 percent of himself onstage. And suffering because the many hours of singing and dancing are grueling for a 50-year-old man who has suffered more than many of us.

During one duet he sings and dances with a female performer who continues riffing at the end of the song, pleasing the director Kenny Ortega, the large group of musicians and the admiring dancers who watch from the floor below the stage and encourage her and Michael to keep singing. He protests meekly, telling them he needs to save his voice, but he continues singing too. They love it, but he’s tiring from the effort. I sat and hoped for more, too, but sensed Jackson’s vulnerability and loneliness even when amid sympathetic fellow artists. I observed his very thin, agile body moving effortlessly in his characteristic syncopated dance moves across the floor. His body was clothed head-to-toe, making his pale hands grotesquely exaggerated. He sang sexy lyrics to the lovely woman with him onstage, yet he appeared androgynous and child-like, the ageless King of Pop.

Three months of rehearsals are condensed into this documentary showcasing the best of Michael Jackson’s music and famous dance moves. What M.J. asks for, he gets from his partner and director, Kenny Ortega, and the musicians and dancers. He does it all: moon-walking, “Thriller” zombie steps and his typical stylized movements. He performs “Smooth Criminal” and is in and out of dramatic black-and-white videos. “Thriller” has some dazzling special effects and great choreographed sequences of him dancing with many male and female dancers imitating his brilliant maneuvers. Even when he’s singing ballads like “Billie Jean” or “I’ll Be There,” Michael Jackson is expressively gliding across the stage.

What’s missing for me, is a sense of Jackson, the man. You do get to know and appreciate him as a performer, but he rarely speaks in this film. I would have preferred more interaction with the cast. But I did enjoy the music and dance, and sadly, this is it. No more live performances by the King of Pop. My rating: It’s a must-see because it’s our last glimpse into his world.

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