Nina
DVD
Review
by Kam Williams
Saldana Does
Simone in Warts-and-All Biopic
Most of the
pre-release buzz surrounding this controversial biopic swirled around
the debate about Zoe Saldana's darkening her skin, donning an afro
wig and wearing a prosthetic nose to portray Nina Simone (1933-2003).
Apparently, in these politically-correct times, some consider the
casting of Saldana as the dark-skinned title character to be a case
of cultural appropriation, since she is of Dominican and Puerto Rican
extraction and thus, by implication, not black enough to play an
African-American.
The
beleaguered actress was so beat up in the press that she's even
publicly acknowledged the micro-aggression, admitting "I didn't
think I was right for the part." However, I suspect anyone who
actually sees the film would find Zoe's Africanized features to be
less of a distraction than her singing.
For, while
she certainly manages to hold her own, Nina's fans will undoubtedly
be more disappointed by the absence of the haunting strains of The
High Priestess of Soul's distinctive voice than by her impersonator's
performing in blackface. Again and again, it's frustrating to have to
settle for second-rate renditions of such Simone classics as "My
Baby Just Cares for Me," "Feeling Good," "Black
Is the Colour," "To Be Young, Gifted and Black," "I
Put a Spell on You," and "Why? (The King of Love Is Dead)."
Thankfully,
Zoe does a better job in the acting half of the role, convincingly
capturing Nina's mercurial personality, from the imperious air, to
the violent mood swings, to the substance abuse, to the bouts of
depression and self-doubt. The movie marks the writing and
directorial debut of Cynthia Mort who reportedly distanced herself
from her own production, at one point suing over the final cut
because she had lost creative control over the editing.
The story
unfolds in North Carolina in 1946 with an adolescent Nina exhibiting
promise as a classical pianist. From there, the film fast forwards to
New York in 1965 where we learn that the once-promising prodigy has
been reduced to playing jazz in nightclubs after having dropped out
of Juilliard.
The
narrative quickly shifts to L.A. in 1995, where we find her already
on the downside of an illustrious career. She's just been committed
to a mental hospital after being diagnosed as an alcoholic, paranoid,
manic-depressive.
As luck
would have it, Nina was assigned an empathetic nurse (David Oyelowo)
who would take a special interest in her welfare. Not only did
Clifton Henderson help her escape the facility but he quit his job to
accompany her to France where he would serve as her personal
assistant.
It is that
relationship which would endure until the end of Nina's life that is
the focus of this warts-and-all biopic. Clifton spends as much time
simply cleaning up the verbally-abusive, chain-smoking,
substance-abusing fading star's act, as he does trying to find her
gigs, given her well-earned reputation as a difficult diva.
Ignore all
the blackface haters, singing aside, Zoe Saldana delivers a decent
enough Nina Simone impersonation here to make you wonder what all the
brouhaha was ever about.
Very Good (3
stars)
Unrated
Running time: 90 minutes
Distributor: Image Entertainment
DVD Extras: None
To see a trailer for Nina, visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BElZ7FMp5uY
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