paul2001sw-1 Nina Simone was an extraordinary artist, a singer with an amazing, androgynous voice, a pianist from the age of four, a master of many styles (yet each one made distinctively her own), and a performer who put an amazing amount of herself into every song she sang. But she was also a frequently unhappy woman, a sufferer from manic depression, and while she was involved in the struggle for black civil rights in the United States, she did not allow herself the indulgence of viewing the outcome of that fight with satisfaction. 'What Happened, Miss Simone?' tells the story of her life and career with songs, comments from friends, and extensive excerpts from interviews she gave. It's fascinating, but also overlong, and while many assert the Nina was a difficult woman, few actually describe the reality of living with her in detail, which is a bit frustrating: she was a private person when not on stage, and the frailties hinted at in her public performances are never completely explained. You finish this documentary wanting to know more; but also, perhaps, feeling you could have been told what you've just learnt in a little less time.

xaymacagal I woke up reflecting on "What Happened, Miss Simone?" and am now feeling like I spent last night sitting through some home movies at a family reunion.Am thinking that a documentary about the great Nina Simone should have left me feeling like I had thrown back five vodka martinis (all imagined folks...I don't roll like that)....Am thinking about the times...her deep isolation as a child prodigy...her musical mentors...her contemporaries (Malcolm, Stokely, Belafonte, Farrakhan -- all four Caribbean men BTW, Jimmy B, the Panthers, Mahalia, Maya, et. al. ...her art in service of the movement...her ambivalence about European classical music vs. pop/jazz/movement music...her moodiness at performances that rivaled Miles' darkness...her many musical collaborators...her unbound sexual appetite...her mental illness...her exile to West Africa then Europe...her money troubles...her abandonment of her child...her husband's financial, emotional, and physical violence...her white savior...race...colorism....I mean, this is the woman who did this: >>>One time in New York I went to see an off-Broadway play with Bill Dukes and Brock Peters - two fine black actors - in the cast. I thought the roles they played were insulting to black people, and I got up there on stage in the middle of the show and told them so. I stopped the play in its tracks to ask them why they were doing trash like that. One of them said something about needing the money, but that was no excuse. They apologized, and took me home in a cab. I was half-crazy with anger that night, a woman on fire, and that was how I felt most of the time as I watched my people struggling for their rightful place in America. <<< This is an extract from her autobiography, I Put a Spell On You http://www.goodreads.com/bo…/show/88328.I_Put_a_Spell_on_YouThis doc could have been toothier if the filmmakers had focused on the woman and her extraordinary life...and perhaps not given as much space to her ex-husband and her daughter....

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.

Blake Peterson Nina Simone is a national treasure. Don't lump her together with the Arethas, the Donnas, the Esthers; she was a soul singer of tremendous originality and personality. She didn't have to enthusiastically remind a man to r-e-s-p-e-c-t her, to rely on anybody besides herself to let her potent baritone shake the bodies of the public — whether a song she shared with the world was written by a pop professional or her and herself alone, Simone's voice never allowed, and still doesn't allow, for casual listening. You want to jump up and find a pair of expensive soundproof headphones just so you can absorb the stealth of her voice and her Baby Grand. Nothing can compare."What Happened, Miss Simone?", directed by documentarian Liz Garbus, captures everything most adored about Simone and the things that made her a particularly flawed human. There are plenty of moments left for us to sit back and let chills creep up our arm through astonishing concert footage, but there are also moments that let it be known that Simone, though a national treasure, was a woman continuously suffering with inner demons left untouched throughout most of her career.New aspects of her complicated life are brought to us through several interviews, mostly with her daughter (who drops a bomb by informing us that after the dissolution of Simone's marriage to her father did she become an abusive wrecking ball). The film goes all the way back to Simone's lonely childhood, in which she dedicated most of her time to her demanding classical piano career, to her final years as a performer. What happened in- between is much more compelling than I ever expected; I knew that Simone began as a crooner in the diva category, eventually turning her attention to Civil Rights (as evidenced by remarkable songs such as "Mississippi Goddam" and "Strange Fruit"), but I didn't realize how much she suffered in her life. She was an undiagnosed manic depressive for the majority of her career. Her husband/manager hit her on a regular basis. She almost faded into homelessness after her mental disorders completely took over in the 1970s."What Happened, Miss Simone" is such a good documentary because it as much idolizes Simone as it does sees her at a ground level; some documentaries view their subject as a star, never slowing down to cover the details that might make them look bad. But Garbus' knack for balancing wonder with sorrow (highs and lows are at the most shattering during Simone's performance at the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival and her daughter's admission that she was suicidal because of Simone's abuse as a teenager) is supreme, making for a well-rounded doc both informational and unglamorous. It represents Simone for who she really was, and though I would prefer a potential feature length, perhaps focusing on a particularly harrowing point in her life, "What Happened, Miss Simone" goes over everything we could ever want to know about Simone. There's just a feeling of unplaceable skimpiness, as though Garbus wanted to make an on screen biography, paying more attention to some things than others. But I can hardly complain — I liked Simone then, and I like her even more now. Presently, however, I feel like I understand her. No longer can I listen to my favorite Simone LP, "Pastel Blues", in the same way.