The songwriter's evolution from darkness into the light

'Nick Cave's Veiled World' assembles some of the Australian musician's closest collaborators for an in-depth look at the dark, mysterious worlds he conjures

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“In Nick’s world, there are always characters, people, songs, him... dealing with the unknown.” For decades, Nick Cave has been more than a mirror of the things we’re afraid to confront. He’s a conduit, a doorway into a different dimension that bristles with outlaws, ghosts, murderers, thieves, scorned lovers and tortured souls. Sky's new documentary, Nick Cave's Veiled World, goes some way to lifting that veil and delivering a fascinating, insightful portrait of the Australian artist's creative process.

"Another music documentary?" you might well sigh, and rightfully so. We're stuffed to the brim, Christmas turkey-style, with endless and often hastily thrown-together projects promising "the most in-depth" of looks at our favourite artists, or indeed our most controversial. The problem with many of them is their endeavour to present the whole picture, too often with broad brush strokes and leaving viewers with the feeling that, actually, they haven't learnt anything new.