‘In Whose Name?’ Review: An Intimate Yet Frustrating Look Inside the Wild World of Kanye West

After six years of filming, Nico Ballesteros’s documentary "In Whose Name?" culminates with Kanye West expressing unease over the project’s lack of narrative clarity. West worries aloud that his life might appear as a disconnected series of public episodes—a portrayal frequently amplified by media coverage. Drawing from more than 3,000 hours of footage shot between 2018 and 2024, the film presents a chronological yet fractured portrait of the artist’s turbulent evolution.

Ballesteros, who began documenting West at age 18, was granted rare and sustained access to the perennially controversial rapper. The resulting film reflects its subject’s complexity: by turns riveting, tedious, and deeply frustrating. West frames the documentary as an exploration of mental health, claiming he stopped taking medication to reconnect with his true self. Yet what emerges most powerfully is the portrait of a man so consumed by fame that the line between his private identity and public persona has all but vanished—a contemporary Victor Frankenstein trapped inside the myth he helped create.

Celebrity cameos—including Chris Rock, Pharrell Williams, Drake, and David Letterman—populate the film, though few offer meaningful pushback against West’s assertions. More often, they enable or indulge his impulses, illustrating how his stature attracts opportunists and insulates him from critique. The documentary’s most compelling moments come from rare instances of confrontation: Swizz Beatz scolds him for wearing a MAGA hat in the studio; Michael Che confronts him backstage at SNL, bluntly calling one of his remarks “fucked up.” Even more revealing are West’s own outbursts—berating Kris Jenner until she cries, or screaming at his cousin during a trip to Uganda. These scenes expose a volatile temperament buffered by a circle of acquiescence.

Kim Kardashian, West’s ex-wife, emerges as one of the few stabilizing forces in his life. She navigates his erratic behavior with notable composure, though the emotional toll is visible throughout. In one poignant sequence, she comforts his cousin after a verbal attack and gently challenges West, noting that his behavior has changed significantly in recent years. Her presence offers a glimpse of the person beneath the persona—a man increasingly isolated by his own grand ambitions.

Structured in three acts with an epilogue, the film revisits many of West’s most publicized moments: meetings with Donald Trump, Sunday Service performances, appearances with televangelist Joel Osteen, and a stilted exchange with Elon Musk. For viewers already familiar with West’s trajectory, much of this feels like well-trodden ground—even a segment featuring saxophonist Kenny G on Valentine’s Day offers little new insight. Instead, the documentary leans heavily on West’s extended, often rambling monologues and pronouncements (“I am Picasso”), which lose their potency through repetition. By the final scenes, as West reflects on severed partnerships with Adidas and Gap and his exclusion from major venues, it becomes clear that the film—like its subject—is caught in a cycle of self-sabotage. Ultimately, "In Whose Name?" struggles to find coherence in chaos, leaving audiences as confounded by West’s blend of genius and self-destruction as the public has been for years.