I watched this film with a little bit of hesitation given the controversy given the casting of Saldana, but I do not want to make too much comment on that as I think at this point it is evident that it was an inappropriate choice. The black-face aside... it was a very confusing choice, given that the film focuses mainly on the last decade or so of Nina Simone's life and neither Saldana nor the makeup applied to her were convincing as a sixty or seventy year old woman.
The film also had a very poor screenplay, and I took issue with it's treatment of Nina Simone as a woman with mental illness, it really lacked subtlety and relied very heavily on clichéd ideas about mental illness which I don't think reflect Nina Simone as a person. In fact, I think the entire film missed the mark in capturing the essence of Nina Simone.
And, finally, and by far the most disappointing, the music! Well... the music was OK, whoever the band were did a decent job. But Saldana's strained singing was terrible.
The movie was boring at best, and offensive at worst. It was a horrible disappointment.
The film also had a very poor screenplay, and I took issue with it's treatment of Nina Simone as a woman with mental illness, it really lacked subtlety and relied very heavily on clichéd ideas about mental illness which I don't think reflect Nina Simone as a person. In fact, I think the entire film missed the mark in capturing the essence of Nina Simone.
And, finally, and by far the most disappointing, the music! Well... the music was OK, whoever the band were did a decent job. But Saldana's strained singing was terrible.
The movie was boring at best, and offensive at worst. It was a horrible disappointment.