What Happened, Miss Simone?

Greetings again from the darkness. Classical pianist, extraordinary singer, highly sought after live performer, Civil Rights activist, and inspiration to so many … it's only fitting that Nina Simone is now the subject of an Oscar nominated documentary. Talented filmmaker Liz Garbus (also Oscar nominated for 1998's The Farm: Angola, USA) provides a biography that is both a deep-dig and somewhat gentle look at this fascinating and troubled woman.

Born Eunice Waymon in North Carolina during the Jim Crow era, she was the church pianist at age 4, and later studied classical piano with the dream of becoming the first black female classical pianist to play Carnegie Hall. While attending Julliard, she worked at an Atlantic City bar where, in an effort to hide the gig from her parents, she created the stage name Nina Simone (after the popular French actress Simone Signoret). It was also at this bar where she was first forced to sing … a step that changed the course of her life.

The film begins by showing her return to the stage at the1976 Montreaux Festival in Switzerland after a seven year self-imposed exile (most recently in Liberia). We then head back to her humble childhood and follow her progression as she blends her Bach-influenced piano style with an expressive vocal style in jazz, gospel, pop, R&B and soul … resulting in the nickname "High Priestess of Soul".

What we see is a woman with remarkable talent and ferocious drive who just never is satisfied with society or her place in it … despite the positive impact she had as a musician and activist. Ms. Garbus uses some rare archival performance footage … such as her singing "I Loves You Porgy" while appearing on Hugh Hefner's "Playboy Penthouse TV show and "Mississippi Goddam" during the march with Martin Luther King. We also hear Nina telling her own story through previously unheard audio recordings, and we have access to diary entries and personal letters. These are combined with insightful interviews from her ex-husband and manager Andrew Stroud, collaborators like Al Shackman (her guitarist) and George Wein (founder of Newport Jazz Festival), and her daughter Lisa Simone Kelly.

What we soon see is a combination of other-worldly talent and a woman filled with rage and depression, and who is isolated inside her own uneasiness. Her later diagnosis and medication for bi-polar syndrome allowed her to better function in those last years. Her lack of attentiveness to her kids is kind of glossed over, but we understand how it made sense for her kids to spend more time at the home of the Shabazz family (Malcolm X) than with their own parents.

It's a shame that Ms. Simone could never appreciate her achievements, the impact she had in the Civil Rights movement and the inspiration her music brought to so many. Even playing Carnegie Hall was not enough for her as she wasn't on stage as the classical pianist of her dreams. Her biggest mainstream musical recognition stemmed from her song "My Baby Just Cares for Me" being used for a1987 Chanel No. 5 advertisement, but fortunately the rest of us can understand her place in history as a rare talent and societal influencer. She truly put a spell on us.

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.

The documentary does a great job of telling the story of Nina Simone, though archive footage and interviews by those close to her, like her own daughter.

The documentary seems to focus on her erratic behavior, which caused her career to take a downfall.

I thought the filmmakers did a great job of actually expressing her behavior. It really captured the changes in her life from moment to moment. The way it just cut from one time to another made me feel the passion and understand how Nina must have felt when she got into the Civil Rights movement.

I did not know much about Nina Simone before the doc, only that people would tell me she was great, but the documentary showed me how great she was. It did a good job of connecting her with the viewer.

Catch it on Netflix.

The telling of Nina's story through the words of her family and old footage from her as well is truly moving and unsettling. I felt the closing in of the events that lead to her fame, fall, and fatality. It seems as if everyone was affected by the power of her illness which was fueled by the times. I am not sure if one accelerated the other. Growing up in the south and traveling all over the world does something to you. You become enlightened and the junk that was going on in the US over race was ludicrous and enraging. I am not sure if I could deal with that back then either. Nina was truly ahead of her time but got stuck in time due to the violence of those times. I love the way she expressed her disdain for the instrument of her fame and I also loved the attitude she had about her own voice. I grew up listening to this strange voice and at first I could not figure out if it was a man or woman until further into the album. This documentary is a timely tribute to the singer and it also allowed us to see what she was going through and why she fell off the face of the earth for a while. I look at her from a different pair of eyes now and I am grateful to know her story.

"What Happened, Miss Simone?" pulls you right into the life of the little girl, Eunice Waymon, who becomes Nina Simone. Through skillful use of archival audio and film, interviews and other contextual materials, and clearly with a genuine appreciation and love for the subject, Liz Garbus has found the thread that strings all of this material together; the genius and passion of a driven artist. Hearing the familiar songs with their stories, and learning about Nina's life journey, all somehow fits powerfully with contemporary racial issues in the US. This film can serve to educate, and inspire, as we continue to navigate the tortuous path to justice. Thank you for making this film, and bringing Nina Simone to even more people.