Nina Simone biopic bombs with critics amid Zoe Saldana race controversy
▻http://www.factmag.com/2016/04/20/nina-simone-biopic-bombs-critics-zoe-saldana-race-controversy
Controversial Nina Simone biopic Nina has been savaged by critics following preview screenings in the States.
The film was heavily criticised due to the casting of lead actress Zoe Saldana, who is of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, with many feeling Saldana was too petite and light-skinned to play the iconic singer.
Last month, the release of the first trailer prompted the estate of Nina Simone to tweet: “Please take Nina’s name out your mouth. For the rest of your life” at Saldana after the actress responded to criticism with a quote from Simone.
The Root say the film is as “horrible as you thought it could be”, complaining that Saldana’s attempts at singing Simone’s songs further hold the film back: “The acting is questionable, but at least viewers could have enjoyed the music. But nope! Saldana can hold an all right note, but not a candle to Simone.” According to Entertainment Weekly, meanwhile, “Nina is a by-the-numbers musical biopic riddled with every conceivable cliché about the tortured artist” that bizarrely glosses over her years as a prominent voice in the Civil Rights Movement in a five-minute montage. Maybe most damning is Indie Wire’s verdict, who claim the film “isn’t just racially insensitive, it’s also ineptly told.”
#bam
