Garbus's documentary is a celebration of Simone's legacy, but it also takes a reasonably unflinching approach to her faults... the real joy here is the music, and the archival footage of Simone doing what she did best: singing, playing piano, performing. Full Review

Rating: B+ -- 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. Full Review

As music and cultural critic Stanley Crouch says, "You only have to hear her once. No one sounds like her except her." Full Review

Though it is doubtful that [Nina] Simone, were she still alive, would be much impressed with [Kanye] West's music - she once said that she didn't like rap at 'all' - she might recognise in him a fellow spirit. Full Review

Rating: 3/5 -- Structurally and content-wise it's near perfect: the film cleverly opens on a thematising visual anecdote before taking us back to the beginning of Simone's life. Full Review

What Miss Simone does have going for it is its unique access to extremely rare material, some of it never seen publicly before. Full Review

Garbus makes the very smart decision to allow Simone’s talent to be the main subject of WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE' We see some songs in their entirety, like a breathtaking 'I Love You, Porgy'...