Blu-Ray Review: Jimi: All Is By My Side

By Brad Henderson

Ever since I was a kid I’ve been fascinated by Jimi Hendrix. Everything about the guy, from his skills to his backstory, intrigued and inspired me and still does to this day. A few years ago I remember OutKast’s André 3000 being announced for a Hendrix film, Jimi: All Is By My Side. Ever since then it has been on my radar and I knew I needed to see it.

I’m sad to say it’s by far one of the worst biopics I’ve ever encountered.

Between fabricating parts of Jimi’s life as well as being historically inaccurate, it’s no wonder why this film didn’t get any publicity and wasn’t discussed by the movie and music community. Within just a few minutes of watching this film you know they got it wrong. I’m not sure if John Ridley even did extensive research before writing the screenplay because if he did he would have known better.

Along with the many things they did get wrong there was one specific thing that had me pretty upset. They have Jimi Hendrix beat the shit out of his girlfriend with a phone and he busts her up pretty bad. Where the hell did they get this? I know there was an “unauthorized” Jimi Hendrix bio a few years ago that referenced this but everyone knew it was bullshit and his girlfriend actually spoke out against it. Funny thing is, she spoke out against this film as well. Jimi Hendrix was a kind soul who was soft spoken and cared a lot about his family and friends for the most part. Having him beat a woman is a freaking disgrace and a pathetic attempt to manufacture “drama.” But that’s not all. . .

This movie contains no, I repeat no, Jimi Hendrix songs. Yeah, that’s because his kids felt the film was misrepresenting his legacy and wanted no part in it. I couldn’t agree more. You may say to yourself that you heard some of his songs, but those were only his cover songs.

Through my time in writing of reviews I have written negative ones, I always try to make them constructive (aside from Jersey Shore Massacre), but there is nothing to say other than this film is poorly put together and should be passed over. Anyone who doesn’t know anything about Jimi is going to think he was a piece of shit and that should not be how he is remembered.

Another thing that really got to me was the editing for the film. It’s so scrambled and jilted that it puts you in a state of confusion every so often and is very distracting. There is this racial tone it has as well. I know Jimi hit it big when the Civil Rights Movement was going on but as Jimi said, he never really encountered much racism in his day and yet we are faced with it in the film a few times. This is a biopic on Jimi; we should focus on him and his surroundings, not made-up shit that didn’t happen.

The only redeeming quality about this film is André 3000’s performance. It’s outstanding and he makes you really believe you are listening to Jimi speak. It’s just sad it was for this film. I’m hoping we get another biopic or documentary that focuses solely on Jimi and the legacy he left so people can see how much he impacted the world.

I’m glad this film didn’t get any good publicity because I don’t want to have people remember Jimi this way. I’m sure many others have felt the same and that’s why you are only now hearing about it.

Jimi: All Is By My Side was released on January 13 by XLrator Media.