The film Jimi - All Is By My Side - Essay Example

Jimi: All Is By My Side My interpretations and opinions of the film The film was set in London and it included some songs that Hendrix had performed before. The director tried to bring the life of Hendrix, although he made it a little fictitious, for instance, in the scenes where Hendrix was beating his girlfriend, Etchingham. Hendrix was never a violent man and I think the film director gave a wrong interpretation of Hendrix as being violent. Some of the songs that Hendrix performed in the film include “Kenny Aronoff”, “Wassy watchel”, and “are you experienced?’ The film also managed to depict the transformation of Hendrix. Initially, Hendrix was a poor boy struggling in life. It depicts Hendrix as very passionate artist, who loves music and sings to impress the crowd. Hendrix tried several times to break into the music industry, but he failed in most of the attempts. He was also introduced to a local guitar band and later fired. He started getting better gigs at the point when he began his solo career. When he was a boy, his hairstyle was short, but as he got more popular, he changed the hairstyle to Afro. At some point the film is uneven and does not have the power of proper recordings. In the first scenes, it is quite challenging to understand the story or what the story was actually telling. The editing was poor and the dialogue quite confusing. The film progressed in a dull and confusing way, but there seem to be a scene that offered a moment of hope, the scene where Jimi plays with cream. One would hope that this would do justice to the interpretation of the scene. However, when music began, it was quite disappointing. From this point, the story was quite illogical. The message that one got was that Jimi could hardly decide between a bad rock girl and a good rock girl. The strangest fact is that Linda Keith went to rehab because Keith Richards started an intervention that saved her life. She was not in any position to advice Jimi on how he would do his hair or play the guitar. Fictional characters later came up that deluded sexist, racial and political agenda that John Ridley was pursuing. The biggest disappointment in the film was that when the audience expected some depiction of creativity and humor on Jimi, they were shown depression and a gloomy tale that indicated Jimi as a speechless mystic who had no spirit. Instead of the director showing Jimi in tour within Europe and performing music, the director only showed violence, overdoses and mental breakdowns. This is quite unprofessional film making and would probably make the audience wish the film was over. One would feel like they are watching an interpretation of the events. (2). The article by Ian Inglis, “Popular Music History on Screen: The Pop/Rock Biopic” According to Ian’s article, the film followed the expectation of the biopic. In the film, one can see how Hendrix grew to stardom as he passed through the hardships. However, biopic films are always very predictable and turn out to be boring. The film producers decided to choose the year before Hendrix was a superstar. The most fascinating thing about the film is that it does not only indicate to the viewers the particular period in Hendrix’s life, but also teases it out in a popular figure. Hendrix has been a hero of his own and Benjamin manages to convey a character that was quite difficult. However, it is the conflicting and philosophical elements of Hendrix’s characters that prove to be quite compelling. One can get the notion that if he had not been found playing a guitar in New York, Hendrix would have been satisfied playing the guitar anywhere and buying some second hand clothes or reading some science fiction novels. Hendrix insisted that he wanted his music to go past the soul of the listener and the director managed to depict Hendrix dying wish as a singer and songwriter. (3). The three film review comparison (a) Christy Lemire’s review Christy argues that the director did not use Hendrix’s music in the film because he did not manage to secure the rights of the music. The film focuses on the years before Hendrix was a superstar. The viewers can’t capture all the sound and as the director seem to say, just like biopic would not possibly capture the nature of the cultural titan. Again it may turn out to be quite frustrating for moviegoers who prefer a narrative that is more traditional. The best example that the film provides is Linda Keith who, at that period was Richard’s girlfriend. Keith is the one who found out that Hendrix could play well and she appreciated that she was no doubt with a great man. Keith manages to introduce Hendrix to the person who would turn out to be his manager. However, the true feeling of Keith is split between love, territoriality and friendship. Therefore, things seem to get pretty tough when another woman known as Kathy Etchingham showed up. The woman later turned out to be Hendrix’s long time girl friend. She was also the opposite of Keith, who is a redheaded hairdresser and potty-mouthed. (b) Richard Brody’s review Richard argues that Ridley is a very sophisticated director compared to other directors such as Warchus. Ridley is very detailed in his depiction of Hendrix as a great artist, who is also a very important person in the society. The director manages to challenge the audience to reconcile their admiration for Hendrix’s works. He states that the director is after portraying the genius artist Hendrix. Just like Christy’s review, Richard’s review also states that Hendrix was depicted violently in the film. Richard claims that the real Hendrix would not hit his girlfriend. The real fans of Hendrix would be quite disappointed when they watched the scene where Hendrix beats up his girlfriend. Perhaps the director was trying to bring in some drama in the film by making Hendrix a violent man. (c). Manohla Dargis’ review Manohla argues, in his review, that Ridley mostly planned Jimi’s temporary stay in London as a very unorthodox approach. Just as the other two reviews done by Christy and Richard, Manohla’s review also states that it is initially shocking that none of Hendrix’s music appears in the film because the director was denied the right for the film. Manohla also states that the director tried to keep the film simple by making the speeches short, interesting and to the point. The director also tried to bring another philosophical aspect of Jimi that the audience did not expect. In other words, the director was trying to introduce what was not quite obvious to the audience otherwise; the audience would be very bored watching a predictable film. The female audiences always feel protective for Hendrix. In many ways, the film is about the strong female forces and Hendrix is the one who fades to the background, lounging in a comfortable seat and singing about cosmic ideas. A third woman then comes along and takes him in a completely different direction. He later discovers that it is not his thing to do such and as he starts to hone his sound and discover his power, he sees some faint shining of him changing into the narcissistic and dismissive rock god. However, considering Ridley’s overall approach, such can be considered as glimmers. The performance and triumph of Hendrix during the 1967 pop festival is clearly having a huge potential. Finally, the film has a tantalizing conclusion that makes the viewers cheer up and wait for what may never come. Read More