SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Prismark10 Zoe Saldana blacks up to play the difficult, volatile and fiery Nina Simone. Nina took no prisoners and there are people still alive who have the shrapnel wounds to prove it.This film never gets a handle on its subject, it really is all over the place. It sets up to its story from the point of view of Clifton Henderson (David Oyelowo) the psychiatric nurse who becomes her assistant and later her manager.Henderson has a difficult task caring for a diva with mental health issues, money problems, a bad reputation and a voice that is losing its edge. Promoters do not make money from her, clubs do not want to book her and audiences refuse to stay silent when she sings.Director Cynthia Mort had her work cut out to make Nina a sympathetic figure despite her support for the civil rights movement. Nina did not want sympathy when she was alive. Nina would sometimes go on stage and wind up the audience by not singing her greatest hits. Apparently Mort did not have the final cut to this film but what we have is a disappointing bio-pic.

casaverdin Because, many were personally involved in Miss Simone's life, it is easy to understand their annoyance; however, as a person that appreciates Miss Simone's music, I put her on her own pedestal but; I must, in the other hand, contemplate, in total impartiality of judgment, Miss Zaldana's performance, her singing was extraordinary and deserves to be valued independently. There is no comparison possible, for they are both different performers, and as such, must be valued separately. Perhaps, in relation to the portrayal of the character, there were marked unsubstantiated facts, this belongs to the screenwriters and playwrights or whoever. One must be fair and judge the acting and the singing of the artists.

gpknopp Nina delivers, with some awesome music. Did it capture Nina's spirit accurately? I don't know, but this film inspired me, unlike most Hollywood tripe these days. It's a simple script about two people who revere each other in an almost supernatural way, sometimes parent/child, sometimes sibling. This is a movie about spiritual struggle and expression of that struggle through music, and is not suitable for children. But it's honest, and whether or not it was true to Nina Simone's spirit, I don't know. But Zoe Saldana is, perhaps, her own elemental force, with a sense for rhythm that is genius and gentle and lots of good things. This movie has some stirring music that is never unpleasant to listen to, and, at times, is a bit sparse. Is the movie true, at least, in it's message that our personal salvation is found in how we love one another? More directly, I thought that this movie directed our attention away from racism towards social taboos against relationships that are none of the above.

plheidinger Probably only 25 minutes that I'm watching this biopic about one of my idols:Nina Simone -> "What a bad television film"."A disaster" ... Zoe Saldana, clearly not up to the character! The allusions to Nina; a revolutionary musician are too few"... I don't care about Mrs Simone torments at the end of her life ! Mostly her relationship with her domestic/manager. (If at least it was "done properly). Plus, all the reproductions of her interviews and concerts : "We do not talk about it "... The film budget is what? $ 200 or something ... Roughly speaking, this full-length feature is a flop ... Let's watch a good documentary :)