Wordiezett So much average

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

tjoceans Why wait till the end of the movie to finally suggest that the reason why Nina Simone was unhappy was because she was bipolar, then maybe we can follow through the entire movie knowing that we're just looking at a crazy woman! I'm confused is she the one to blame for the beatings she took from her husband, for living in a time of racism where it was not even permitted to discuss trauma, for being turned down to go to a school because she was African-American; only to be acknowledged after her death,for her political involvement with civil rights movement, which has always been considered taboo, for being poor, for living in fear of a lynching, for not being permitted to be a mother - just for living in fear! Hey! While you're at it, you can just write her out of the movie all together and just say this is how you become bipolar! This is what happens to women when they are given too much responsibility! We love that story! She can't take care of herself. As long as the men took care of the bills, she couldn't possibly understand the bills. Even in her final moments, she is not heard. It all falls on deaf ears Nina! They're not listening! They can't hear you! They gave you the pills so you could just keep playing! It's three strikes and you're out - African-American, woman, mental illness! I can't imagine a place anywhere and in anytime that a woman like this was not spotted on the street and cared for? Was that the state of mind during the civil rights movement? Can you answer me that question? You are telling me not one person, not a friend,family, or fan came to take care of her? I mean manic-depression has been around quite a long time! Centuries! There has always been people who have it and have been around to treat it. It didn't just happen in the last ten years! I'm sick of the big finale of bipolarism/mental illness! Why not do what has always been done when a writer/director doesn't know how to end a story - just staple a deuce ex machine to it and call it a day! Perfect rags to riches story, hey? Why even mention a mental illness? So those of us who suffer can say, well that's why we'll never be an important part of society! Or those of us who don't suffer as much can button it with, oh thank heavens she got help! Maybe a better ending might be triumphant? The husband is put in jail, finally justice served! By the way, since we are airing out the dirty laundry, what about the husband? What was his mental illness diagnosis? That he was a man and times were different? He gets a pass? The daughter? Anyone with the correct information knows that it runs in the family. How about tieing things up with a prompting of intolerance? Or don't women, African-American and those suffering with mental illness deserve some tolerance? And don't think I didn't miss that you are quick to label an abused woman as bipolar, which is why I asked the question at the beginning. Isn't this what the movie was about? Creating more intolerance! That is why they smacked the mental illness label onto Nina and the ending of the movie: so we could all feel like we were in the same company with the intolerant, nice and cosy. It is a mirror of our intolerance. It's just an easier explanation than and less taboo to just say she lost her fame because of bipolarism and easier to diagnose as she is a woman. Whatever, bravo to the director for an ignorant message! I loved seeing the original footage, but the the director should be cremated! Nina you're not alone. You were never alone. We women are all still dieing silently - African-American, or pathetically diagnosed with a mental illness - for all our tries.

evanston_dad Two of the 2015 Academy Award nominees for Best Documentary Feature dealt with artists (specifically singers) who were ultimately undone by their self-destructive tendencies. "Amy" told the sad story of Amy Winehouse, whose struggles with addiction and eating disorders cut her life and career tragically short. "What Happened, Miss Simone?" is about Nina Simone, who used her music to fuel the anger of the civil rights movement until her flame burnt out. Both women changed the nature of their art form; both women were taken from the world much too soon.But for all the similarities, the stories of the two women are quite different. Amy Winehouse is a pathetic figure. We watch as she passively lets fame destroy her. Nina Simone, on the other hand, is full of rage, rage that vents itself through her music. If Winehouse lets strife happen to her, we get the sense that Simone brings it on herself. It's as if she can't handle the anger that a sense of injustice toward the world stokes inside her and destroys herself as a way to be rid of it.Watching Simone sing "Mississippi Goddamn" while seeing images of the Civil Rights movement, images evocative of the recent violence toward blacks perpetrated by law enforcement officials throughout the country, brought home to me how far we still need to go in our efforts toward racial equality and why the slogan "Black Lives Matter" should be heeded by all.Grade: A-

sean-189-814852 It's not that the subjects and facts relayed in this documentary are incorrect. But it is such a one-sided view of Nina Simone, without a focus on her amazing achievements. More of a "let me tell you the truth about my crazy Mother". Honestly - I could care less about Nina's depression, and abusive behavior. I admire her courage and her incredible talent. Not a mention of her music really - it functions more as a backdrop to this angry, slightly sad, slightly defeated so-called "objective" rendering of her life.Cinematography and visuals are interesting and powerful. But anecdotes are all on the negative side. As Oscar said, Every great man nowadays has his disciples, and it is usually Judas who writes the biography. In this case, Judas is the kids. And a few friends and family, who come off genuine really don't help the cause that one's life should be framed by one's flaws and failures.Nina Simone should be remembered and celebrated for her amazing career and accomplishments. This documentary is more of a negative footnote to all of that and can easily be forgotten.

MortalKombatFan1 "What Happened, Miss Simone?" is a documentary that premiered on Netflix on June 26, 2015. It's about the life and times of singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone.Using a vast array of archival footage and interviews with Miss Simone and those who knew her, the movie, Directed by Liz Garbus, paints an interesting picture of this singular talent. She started playing piano at four and performing in church at revivals, when she wanted to be the first black classical pianist to play professionally, music schools wouldn't take her - just because of the color of her skin. Nina went on to playing jazz in clubs and her unique style drew attention. She soon met her husband and manager Andrew Stroud - from there her life was filled with great heights and shattering lows. Nina's diary entries talked about spousal abuse, how she suffered from manic depression and how with her constant touring took a tole on her, saying she was being "worked like a dog" by her husband.Things changed in 1963 when four little girls where killed in a racially instigated church bombing in Alabama. Nina wrote "Mississippi Goddamn" as a response and from then dedicated herself to civil rights for black Americans. This hurt her career commercially - a Harlem concert in 1969 with her singing "are you ready to smash white things, to kill if you have to" is very telling of the scorn and anger she felt against discrimination she had witnessed her whole life, as well as her passion for change.The movie is a candid and honest telling of Nina's life, and in a revealing scene her daughter Lisa reveals that she was abused by her mother during their time living in Africa.Nina Simone is a complex and fascinating woman, and this movie is a very revealing look at her life. It has enough interesting concert and interview footage from the fifties to the eighties to satiate returning fans, as well as give viewers new to her music the definitive look at the life of the "High Priestess of Soul"