“I flirted with death practically every night. Even as a man I couldn't leave my childhood behind.” In Jimmy Barnes: Working Class Man, the Cold Chisel frontman and solo star narrates the adult consequences of a childhood mapped by fear and neglect.

Directed by Andrew Farrell, the film picks up where Working Class Boy left off, tracing how success amplified chaos, how alcohol masked rage and panic, and how therapy, family and sobriety began to change the story. Barnes frames the timeline in his own voice, interleaving stage readings from the memoir, candid conversations with Jane and the kids, and footage from decades on the road. Farrell keeps engagement high through crisp structure and a refusal to glamourise excess, letting humour and music breathe without softening the hurt. Along the way, the documentary touches the deaths of friends, the toll of surgeries, and the decision to advocate for men’s mental health in public, offering context rather than absolution.

Jimmy Barnes: Working Class Man places recovery at the centre, showing a national icon wrestling with shame, love and accountability, and asking viewers to consider how the past writes itself into the present.