What Happened, Miss Simone?
Netflix | Release Date: June 24, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattJun 24, 2015
An excellently clear-eyed primer on the woman whose talent carried her from an impoverished childhood in Tryon, N.C., to the world’s most rarefied stages—and whose political defiance nearly ended her career. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJun 25, 2015
[An] impressive and deeply felt documentary. Read full review
90
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlJun 25, 2015
Garbus's film is a portrait of a soul torn apart by forces beyond it and within it. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJun 26, 2015
I think the film overreaches in casting Simone as a standard-bearer against racism and sexism, but it’s filled with mesmerizing clips from throughout her performing career as well as numerous interviews with Simone, both audio and on film. Read full review
80
VarietyScott FoundasJan 31, 2015
Garbus embraces Simone in all her multitudes and contradictions — or at least as many of them as can be comfortably squeezed into a 100-minute running time. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJun 25, 2015
What Happened features some of the best concert footage and musical performances in recent music doc memory, even if it never quite answers the question in its title. Read full review
75
IndieWireAnisha JhaveriJan 31, 2015
Away from the confessions that induce shock and the divulgences that elicit sympathy, Garbus leaves ample space for lengthy sequences of Simone's performances. Read full review
75
HitfixDaniel FienbergJan 31, 2015
When Garbus lets Simone show us why she's special What Happened, Miss Simone? is successful and vital. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla DargisJun 24, 2015
An often electric, bracingly urgent documentary. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinJan 31, 2015
What Happened, Miss Simone does its job well, proving especially treasurable for its wealth of rare archive film footage and audio material that captures Simone’s fierce talent, fiery temperament and fragile mental health. But it is unlikely to be ranked up there with the best music-themed bio-docs. Read full review
60
The GuardianJordan HoffmanJan 31, 2015
Clearly there is entertainment value in this documentary, but it’s very much of a “behind the music” calibre. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineClayton DillardJun 20, 2015
It utilizes Maya Angelou's claim as tantalizing bait rather than the starting point for a feature-length thesis statement. Read full review
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