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.

Zolanda portrayed Nina so well. I saw the documentary of Nina on Netflix after media and critics expressed how Zoe and her complexion wasn't the best choice for the movie. You could tell she was painted in some scenes, but for the most part Zoe did an awesome impression of Nina in this movie. The posture, movement of mouth, mannerism, OMG and the scene where she received the clipping, necklace and tape from a fans daughter from the United States was so moving. Whomever it was on that tape sounded damn good!The scene of her dancing during the closing credits should've been left out and the last scene of her performing after returning to the United States could've had some more of Nina mannerism in it.Good movie and it kept me engaged through out the entire showing of it!!

NinaYet another film of a famous person that in reality is just an excuse to show off mental illness. In this case the bipolar condition of Nina Simone. The film assumes that the viewer already is familiar with her life. I wasn't. I only knew her by having heard a couple of her songs. The start of the film rushes ahead through her life to the very end of her life. But it doesn't start at the end and show flash backs. Well... sort of. It was mostly just a confusing mess and I had no clue what her career was like up to the end (where the film begins). The first concert she does is in a small bar. So as a viewer I'm like, OK, so this is the kind of concerts she had. And then I'm told she is one of the most famous singers. OK, so why is she in a small bar performing if she is so famous? And then somebody says that she should be in a huge concert hall, and not in a small bar. And I'm like, yes, so why isn't she? Please tell me, the viewer. No information. The film revolves around her (non-romantic) relationship with her nurse/assistant/manager. This is uninteresting. It never goes anywhere and there's very little tension. I suspect it's just badly acted. David Oyelowo plays the assistant. I had never heard of him. So I looked him up. He has a long career of so-so stuff. So he doesn't seem particularly talented. He seems to be established as a middling talent. So it's an odd casting. It seems to me like he just didn't have what it took to make this role work. Zoe Saldana plays Nina Simone. This is also not particularly interesting. But I don't think it's the acting that's the problem this time. I suspect the problem here is the script. A string of scenes showing a crazy person doing crazy things is not interesting. This is not a comedy. The craziness has to be coupled with her being sensible sometimes. There has to be some sort of balance. Nina Simone in this film goes from being disturbingly weird to being bouncing-off-the-walls-in-a-padded-cell- crazy. She's impossible to like. But she's famous for being a musical genius. She created amazing music and trail-blazed against all odds and conquered the world. This is not shown in this film. Nina Simone in this film is just nuts with no redeeming qualities. It's the stuff that made her famous that I'm interested in. This film provides none of it. They use the "Angry Black Woman" trope to it's fullest extent. Sure, Nina Simone does have ample reason to be angry. But this character seems utterly consumed by it. It's like she has nothing else going for her in her life. It would be nice with a film about a historical black person that doesn't focus on how much a victim he or she is. I'm not saying that black people historically haven't suffered. What I'm saying is that, by looking at the movies produced focusing on black people, black history seems to be defined by being a victim and nothing else. I'm starting to find this tedious. And in this film it's especially obvious, since her talents are so down-played. It's all about Nina, the crazy victim. I learned almost nothing about Nina Simone's music career.

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.