I was expecting a series of loosely tied together music videos, but the connection, and the narrative, was much stronger than expected. This is obviously based on Beyoncé's own life, the troubles she has had in her own family, and the importance of family to her (in both a literal and figurative sense). It's shown using a combination of private footage and more music video-like sequences, and it ends up working really well.
What's most impressive, is how Beyoncé and the movie makers managed to make her very personal story feel relatable for people in completely different situations. This is done both by showing all sorts of lives throughout the film, but also by making Beyoncé herself feel more human and relatable.
The process and personal journey described, going from feeling hurt, to angry, indifferent, etc., and then forgiveness and redemption, kind of makes the other players in her personal journey seem like passive players, and so the conveying of "forgivenes" was a bit harder to swallow. But then again, this is only meant to reflect her side of all of this, and you are just going to trust her judgment.
