‘Carole King’ tells the story of a songwriting giant

Eisner interviewed many of those who orbited her subject, including producer Lou Adler and King’s late songwriting collaborator Toni Stern. They revealed that King — now 83 and a longtime environmental activist — was driven to the apex of stardom despite being a recluse who took a “long sojourn” to the backwoods of Idaho in the mid-1970s. She is a mother of four who favors Jewish tradition and domesticity but whose four marriages were unsuccessful. An earthy, wiry-haired pianist who didn’t trade on sex appeal for fame — and who charted a powerful path for women in music — King is revered as a feminist. Yet she is uncomfortable picking up that mantle. Eisner sums it up this way: “She is a puzzle whose pieces don’t quite fit, a melody that doesn’t quite resolve.”