The brief life of classic rock legend Jimi Hendrix was one that—forgive the metaphor—was electric. A virtuoso guitar player, ambitious songwriter and dazzling performer, Hendrix was second to none, with The Jimi Hendrix Experience one of the most formidable (and loudest) bands on the planet at the time. So naturally, a movie about his life seems like a no brainer. But what happens when you don’t have access to any of his songs?
That was the dilemma "12 Years A Slave" screenwriter John Ridley had to contend with for "All Is By My Side." The film lands a magnetic lead with Andre 3000 in the title role, but is forced to stay focused on his prefame days, and that’s where the movie stumbles, as we noted in our review. We said it feels like "a Hendrix movie without the full Hendrix story, seminal Hendrix songs, all in a portrait of a man that doesn’t really feel like Hendrix at all." Indeed, the man on screen seems entirely shaped by two women, played by Imogen Poots and Hayley Atwell, rather than having any agency of his own.
Still, you might want to take a look. "All Is By My Side" opens on September 26th. Trailer below, new poster via EW.
