What Would Gary Say Short reviews for people on the go
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Nina Simone wanted to be the first classical pianist to play Carnegie Hall, but events in her life were such that she started playing in jazz clubs and developed a long career as a singer and songwriter. The film reviews her life, through interviews with her daughter, ex-husband, and her lead guitarist, among others, as well as through her diary writings and recorded interviews. I think what is most fascinating and makes the film completely worth it is the concert footage. You get to hear a lot of the songs that made her famous as she sang them in various venues. I also did not know that she was as active in the civil rights movement as she was, and her activism and disillusionment with America seemed to consume her. I am not sure that I walked away from this with a clear picture of what happened; her ex-husband never really opens up about their relationship. Her daughter did, and you get a better sense of a woman who probably was suffering a mental illness before it was commonly understood. But thumbs up from me. The film did what a good documentary does – revealing other sides of the personalities they explore, things that I did not know. And I loved listening to her again, especially through her concerts. (2015; 3.5 Stars)
