What Happened, Miss Simone?
Liz Garbus’s searching portrait of Nina Simone captures a musical genius torn between personal sovereignty, public fame, and the demands of history.
Overview
A powerful exploration of a musical icon's struggle during a tumultuous era.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- electric
- bracing
- melancholic
- music documentary night
- black history month
What critics said
Critics broadly find the documentary compelling, urgent, and electrically effective at conveying Nina Simone’s singular artistic legacy, while acknowledging that its overview is necessarily incomplete.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Hours of Nina Simone’s autobiographical tapes provide a primary narrative voice alongside archival footage and interviews.
Simone struggles to reconcile her musical ambition and uninhibited stage persona with devotion to the civil rights movement.
The film places Simone’s rise and withdrawal from performance within the violent 1960s American civil rights era.
The overview emphasizes Simone’s brilliant artistry, unmitigated ego, family estrangement, and difficult personal life.
Films like What Happened, Miss Simone?, and why
Amy
music documentary centered on a singular performer, archival material, and the tension between artistic identity and public history
Janis: Little Girl Blue
intimate artist biography using archival footage and personal testimony to examine fame, creativity, and emotional turmoil
The Black Godfather
artist-focused documentary combining performance history, civil rights context, and a complicated public persona
Searching for Sugar Man
acclaimed biographical music documentary portraying a gifted musician’s ambitions, relationships, and psychological strain
Movie Details
- Director
- Liz Garbus
- Release Date
- 2015-01-22
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (398)
Cast
- Nina Simone
- Lisa Simone
- Dick Gregory
- Stanley Crouch
- Elisabeth Henry-Macari
- Ilyasah Shabazz
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is What Happened, Miss Simone? about?
- Liz Garbus’s searching portrait of Nina Simone captures a musical genius torn between personal sovereignty, public fame, and the demands of history.
- What is What Happened, Miss Simone? like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of What Happened, Miss Simone? as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is What Happened, Miss Simone? violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in What Happened, Miss Simone? as mild.
- What did critics think of What Happened, Miss Simone??
- Critics broadly find the documentary compelling, urgent, and electrically effective at conveying Nina Simone’s singular artistic legacy, while acknowledging that its overview is necessarily incomplete.
- Which films are like What Happened, Miss Simone??
- Films with a similar feel include Amy, Janis: Little Girl Blue, The Black Godfather, and Searching for Sugar Man.
- How long is What Happened, Miss Simone??
- What Happened, Miss Simone? runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch What Happened, Miss Simone??
- In United States, What Happened, Miss Simone? streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
