Sunday, June 07, 2015

JImi: All Is By My Side (movie)

Finally got around to seeing this flick about my all-time favorite rock'n'roll guitarist. I was definitely hesitant in viewing this since so many bio-films get so much wrong, down to wildly out of place clothing or set dressings. But Andre Benjamin does a convincing job of imitating Hendrix's speech and body language, although some might be a bit exaggerated. Of course, there is the controversy of the completely fictionalized scene of "Jimi" violently beating his girlfriend in a jealous rage, contrary to anything anyone who knew Hendrix has ever said about him. But, otherwise, it is an entertaining movie that gets the gist of his life right, although, of course, it changes and adapts bits for the cinema.

There are no surprises in the basic story line (his early musical years up through finding out that he would be playing Monterrey Pop Festival) that any casual fan doesn't already know and the man's estate would not allow his music to be used, so the music is other artist's period pieces and songs that Jimi covered early in his career.

Overall, decent and worth watching (for free, anyway), but not essential. The best movie I have seen on the man is still the 1973 A Movie About Jimi Hendrix, which is absolutely essential for any fan.