Exoticalot
People are voting emotionally.
Grimossfer
Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
Bessie Smyth
Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
icevirgo99
I feel like there was so much about Nina that was left to be told that they didn't tell us. I think not having her family involved was a mistake because it clearly shows in the depth of the story telling in this. This just failed on all fronts.
Nozz
First of all, I don't go to see movies for the makeup. I don't care about that controversy. The accent was a bit of a problem; sometimes I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be hearing Nina Simone or Eartha Kitt. The singing, I'd say, was handled well, given the choice not to use Nina Simone's voice (and that choice can be argued with). The first song dispelled any expectation that we were going to get a Nina Simone imitation, and so when later songs recalled her more strongly, what caught our attention was the positive side of the salute rather than the mismatch.The big problem was the story. Nina in the movie has two problems. She's suffering as a black woman, and she isn't mentally stable. We get a hint at the very beginning that maybe discrimination is what undermined her sanity (although in reality the Curtis Institute still denies it rejected her on racial grounds, and the fact is the Institute was not closed to black women). But despite reminders of the political situation, she seems to embrace her neuroses rather than struggle against them, so an opportunity for drama is lost. She's a law unto herself, either she takes her medication or she doesn't, and there isn't a lot of cause-and-effect for the audience to cling to.We do see a bit of cause-and-effect when Dr. King is assassinated and she appears to respond by writing "Why? (The King of Love Is Dead." Unfortunately, Nina Simone in reality didn't write that song.At what sounds like a crucial moment, her career has bottomed out and someone says "She has to deliver truth again. If she does, she can do whatever she wants." But the remark raises your eyebrows because we hadn't seen a stage at which she delivers something other than truth. And when she agrees to start living clean, on her way to a comeback, it seems like a whim triggered by nothing in particular.If I could go back in time with the scriptwriter, I'd tell her to rebuild the story around that "She has to deliver truth again" crisis and to give it a clearer before-and-after with more sense of a changed attitude. But maybe that would be an even less accurate movie.
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.
Tiffany Johnson
Zoe Saldana did an excellent job, she did capture Nina's essence. Perhaps the story is fictional, and the nurse bit is quite a liberty, however, Zoe helps to bring Nina to a new generation. Her makeup is appropriate, it is not offensive. She gives a nuanced and fine performance. Sometimes it is nice to see a softer more human side of someone known in many ways as a "Militant Icon." Great job Zoe. We get to see hints of Nina's weakness in her dealings at the hospital and the human effects of having to be a strong presence during her trials and tribulations. For those who call Zoe's makeup ugly what is ugly about it? I think some of the fictional liberties are fun, I like the romantic soap opera version of Nina, moments of the lighter spirit and times. Nina is beautiful as is Zoe.
