Review of Jimi: All Is by My Side (2013) by Harry W — 17 Jun 2015

With little knowledge about the story behind the musical legend Jimi Hendrix, Jimi: All is by My Side sounded like a chance to learn about one of my father's favourite musicians.

The one thing that I expect from a good musical biopic is for the film to really convey to me what precisely made its subject such a legend, and I found Jimi Hendrix to be one of the more reclusive examples of this. Unfortunately, that remained the case by the end of Jimi: All is by My Side because all I learned about Jimi Hendrix from the film was that he spent much of his career in England. Aside from that, there was little in Jimi: All is by My Side to elevate it to the scope of a supposed music legend.

Jimi: All is by My Side is a little too psychadelic for it to actually have a competent narrative. There is an ambitious sense of style in the film, but the lack of substance does not justify it. As it is, the film is a take on The Hendrix Myth and so is not a legitimate story about the legend himself. As a result, the film has come under scorn from close friends of Jimi Hendrix himself. Jimi Hendrix's estate even denied the filmmakers the rights to use his music in the film and so the actual scope of the legend that the film is allowed to cover proves minimal. With that standing in the way you'd kind of have to wonder why to even bother, but director John Ridley didn't think that. He can't have thought too much abotu creating a sensible story in Jimi: All is by My Side because there is honestly little that the film has to offer as a Jimi Hendrix film. It shows a mild sense of what John Ridley's sense of style is all about, but for a film with such an important subject at heart there is just no heart in the film. Jimi: All is by My Side is honestly just a paper-thin take on the myth of a musical legend and does not get into questioning who he was or even giving an idea of what promoted his public image. It is actually possible to walk away from Jimi: All is by My Side knowing less than when you went in because there were times where I questioned if the man was American or British. There was minimal clarification there, but that's because Jimi: All is by My Side is not interested in answering questions or even asking them. It is just an excuse to use a big name musical legend as an excercise in experimental filmmaking. It works to a certain extent because there is stylish appeal in the film, but there is no looking past the fact that Jimi: All is by My Side does nothing at all to honour the legend that it pretends to chronicle in the narrative. In essence, Jimi: All is by My Side is not only not a film about Jimi Hendrix, it is simply not a film about anything. It barely even touches upon the music scene of 1960's Britain which is thoroughly important as explored in other films. By the end of it, I just felt that Jimi: All is by My Side was as much about Jimi Hendrix himself as Fur was about Diane Arbus, and the slow movement of such an uninolving and style oriented film is boring enough without it wasting the time of viewers who are expecting to find just treatment of such a musical legend.

But I will admit that the visual style of the film is nice. With the colour scheme being mildly saturated, the genuine style of the visual palette in Jimi: All is by My Side draws the eye of the viewer in due to its simple yet surprisingly detailed production design and picture perfect scenery beneath the filters. As well as that, the soundtack to Jimi: All is by My Side manages to make use of a powerfully talented array of singers and musicians who capture the intended atmosphere of the time with a sense of both strong articulation and genuine free spirit about them. Yet the best part of the film is not the style, but the leading perforamnce of Andre Benjamin.

Andre Benjamin's performance is a decent one. The film strands him in such limited material where he has little to do with such an iconic figure, but he puts his natural charm into the part and is able to embody the psychadelic nature of Jimi Hendrix in terms of both looking the part and capturing the artistic headspace of the man. He looks perfect in the part and captures the physical movements of only a true king of the Hippie era without ever stepping out of the role, meaning that he pays the most respect to the legend of anyone involved in the film. The real Jimi Hendrix remains an enigma, but Andre Benjamin tries his best to capture the genuine spirit and voice of the man which proves to be the most effective part of the film since he justifies his existence as the physical embodiement of Jimi Hendrix with such extensive detail. Andre Benjamin interacts with every other cast member on a level not too dramatic to fictionalize the character but rather with a sense of spirited restraint and involvement in the strange headspace that Jimi: All is by My Side is bent on remaining in.

So Jimi: All is by My Side benefits from a rather intriguing visual style and an effective leading performance from Andre Benjamin, but it is so distant from telling anything true about the legendary musician in the title that it is likely to leave viewers frustrated and bored with little in terms of competent payoff from staying through the entire slow experience.