A drama based on Jimi Hendrix's life as he left New York City for London, where his career took off.
Director: John Ridley
Writer: John Ridley (screenplay)
Stars: André Benjamin, Hayley Atwell, Imogen Poots
This is one of the most interesting biographies I have seen in a while and not just because I didn't know much about Jimi Hendrix before I watched it but rather because the shooting style and editing choices made the film different and exciting.
First of all I would like to commend the team on the casting of Andre Benjamin as Jimi.
(Jimi) (Andre as Jimi)
Not only do the two look very similar but Andre is also a very talented musician who played the songs throughout the live performances of the film. I have noticed that often productions have chosen to supply stardom to their biographies rather than to keep to the true look of the person they are supposed to be portraying. For example Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie in The Runaways.
(Cherie) (Dakota as Cherie)
Though the hair and make up assists a lot in creating the image for her, the rest of the face shape of Cherie is actually more simlar to Kristen Stewarts, Dakota's co-star.
So I am glad that the production team chose to make the film more authentic rather than worrying about the name of which ever star they cast. The real star of this movie is supposed to be Jimi Hendrix and that is what this production has done by using Andre Benjamin.
Now to the actual film.
What I loved about the shooting style was that it seemed to keep in character with Jimi.
The camera seems to concentrate on the small things, during long pieces of dialogue such as in the beginning of the film where Jimi and Linda are discussing the stage name "Jimi James". The camera drifts over to the record player, which has no real importance in the scene but it leads the viewer to really listen to the dialogue between the two characters. I think this is perfect because Jimi as a person seemed to have some really profound things to say.
"If I could do things my way, I'd do that. Do something new, you know."
Another example is when Jimi and Linda see each other for the first time again in London. Where other films would have had this scene in a Two-Shot medium close up, the cinematographer chose to instead concentrate on their hands, clutching for the others in the most tender way. They mute the dialogue and let the viewer concentrate on this tiny little interaction, really bringing everything down to earth.
Editing choices were also incredibly interesting in this film.
Often throughout the film, while a character can be heard speaking they can often be seen on screen not speaking but instead laughing, or lighting a cigarette. It gives the film a small feeling of a documentary. Jump cuts and the use of negative space is creating a feeling of truth throughout the film.
They lay scenes one over another. While Linda reads the review of the Jimi Hendrix experience, Jimi can be seen and heard arguing with his band mates. It creates some interest to what could have been a rather boring scene and the quick snipet jump cuts involved keep it really exciting. Yet another example of some documentary style editing with a twist.
All in all I really enjoyed the film and found it quite different from others before it to watch because of its style, casting, and editing.
