What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015) YTS

Reviewed by CinemaSerf 7 / 10

I did not know that Nina Simone was

I did not know that Nina Simone was a classically trained pianist, not that she was declined entry into a conservatory in New York - not because of her lack of skill but because of her skin pigmentation. I don't suppose that should have surprised me, but that New York in the 1950s was still that bigoted is pretty shameful. She didn't just take that slight lying down though, and was soon working nightly in a jazz club demonstrating that she was a woman of substance. Soon allied with the pitch perfect guitarist Al Schackman, she begins to drawn bigger crowds, to sing and to find herself a husband/manager in no-nonsense cop Andrew Stroud. Before long, she has a luxury home in Mount Vernon, a Mercedes in the drive and a promising career - but as that success grows, the wheels begin to come off. The relentlessness of her schedule; the arrival of their children; her increasingly veciferous and controversial support of the Civil Rights movement and finally the gradual chasm that developed between her own aspirations and those of her often violent husband all drove her carer into decline and her to thoughts of suicide. Rather than succumb to those, though, she has the presence of mind to get on a plane to Liberia and set about recharging her batteries. Switzerland, Holland and finally Paris all provided conduits for her reinvention of herself before she finally accepts that she would need medication to control her clinically defined illnesses and settles in the South of France. There is a phenomenal collection of archive included here and that, coupled with some frank contributions from her daughter Lisa, a taped interview from 2008 with her ex-husband and contributions from Schackman and others close to her and her family during the time of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination, all puts quite a lot of meat on the bones of a character who was in many ways strong and determined, but in others vulnerable. There are no shortage of clips from her musical performances - including a powerfully subtle one from Montreaux in 1976 and by the conclusion I couldn't help compare her life with the equally turbulent ones of the likes of Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner as they, too, struggled with demons from within and without. It was Maya Angelou who posed the title question, and Liz Garbus and some very proficient archivists make a solid effort to let us know.

Reviewed by Torin F 6 / 10

MISS SIMONE is a well-crafted documentary about artistry

MISS SIMONE is a well-crafted documentary about artistry, mental illness, the cost of fame, and the deeper personal impact of the fight for civil rights. The music is secondary to the story of her struggles, including those who supported her, as well as those who suffered. It's not an uplifting or inspiring tale by any means, though Nina's resilience is admirable.

Reviewed by R T 7 / 10

I think that this should be a 10-part

I think that this should be a 10-part series. I think we could use 20 more interviews jumping over her entire career. love her daughter's perspective. <3 it was absolutely what she saw. But Nina Simone deserves a devotion, including her family's world. Like a 10-part series of devotion, from 150 narratives.

What Happened, Miss Simone?

2015

Action / Biography / Documentary / Music

What Happened, Miss Simone?

2015

Action / Biography / Documentary / Music

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I did not know that Nina Simone was

MISS SIMONE is a well-crafted documentary about artistry

I think that this should be a 10-part

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