The Movie:

I don't think it would be a significantly controversial opinion if I said that Jimi Hendrix is the greatest guitar player, as well as one of the greatest rock musicians, of all time. His fascinating life full of many ups and downs, as well as his mellow laissez-faire attitude towards life is ripe for an interesting and exciting biopic, if handled correctly. The possibility of recreating the raw intensity of his orgasmic music in film alone is a very attractive proposition.

As far as Hendrix on film is concerned, there are many concert films (Jimi Plays Monterey and Jimi Hendrix: Live at Woodstock are the two essentials), as well as an excellent 1973 documentary on the man himself, simply titled Jimi Hendrix. As far as fictionalized depictions of Hendrix go, there was a made for TV biopic called Hendrix. Produced in 2000, it was forgettable at best, insulting and lazy at worst.

So it should come as no surprise that I was excited when I heard of an upcoming theatrical feature about Hendrix. However, as news about the film's production came rolling in, that excitement slowly turned into dread. First, Outkast's Andre Benjamin was cast as Hendrix, not only an odd choice, but a man in his late 30s playing early-20s Hendrix (He famously died at age 27, and if you consider that to be a spoiler, why are you even reading this review?), now that could be unintentionally funny.

Then the big blow came: It was revealed that the filmmakers could not secure the rights to use any of Jimi's songs. At this point I figured the whole project would be cancelled. After all, who wants to watch a Hendrix biopic without Voodoo Child, The Wind Cries Mary, Little Wing…? But to my surprise and chagrin, the production decided to carry on. "It couldn't be all bad", I thought to myself, "At least they can use some of Hendrix's many covers." Then I saw the final product and realized that the inability to use Hendrix's original songs was the least of its problems.

Jimi: All Is by My Side is a bit of a mess, an unfocused, haphazardly constructed biopic that randomly throws together a bunch of trivial moments from Hendrix's life, while miraculously managing to include a couple of vital events. But its biggest sin is that it showcases the precise two qualities that should never be part of any artistic recreation of Hendrix's life: It's a dull and joyless experience.

The whole film feels like a montage of deleted scenes hazily cobbled together in order to create a feature-length companion piece to an actual theatrical feature that doesn't exist. Since his original songs could not be used, the movie cleverly focuses on the period before The Jimi Hendrix Experience released their first album, while it also cannot figure out what to do with this period. The first hour relegates Hendrix to a background player as the title could have been changed into Linda Keith: How I Discovered Hendrix. The first half of All Is by My Side focuses entirely too much on the relationship between Hendrix and Keith Richard's then girlfriend, portrayed by Imogen Poots.

Once Hendrix moves to London and starts making a name for himself, some of the essential events of his life, like putting together the Experience and his infamous jam session with Cream, which gave Eric Clapton a major anxiety attack about his ongoing status as "God", are depicted adequately. However, we also have to sit through an extended melodramatic sub-plot involving Hendrix and his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham (Hayley Atwell), who's portrayed as the typical needy and shrill rock squeeze.

There are references to stuff that, you know, actually matters, like Hendrix's brain-melting turn at Monterey, but they remain just that, references. The fact that a recreation of his Wild Thing cover is played over a black screen during the end credits is not much short of an insult.

All Is by My Side was written and directed by John Ridley, who wrote the screenplay for last year's best film, 12 Years a Slave. How was it possible for anyone who wrote such an excellent screenplay to put together such a mess? I guess I have to also remind myself that he wrote the near-abysmal Red Tails as well.

The Blu-Ray:

Video:

All Is by My Side showcases a fairly obvious digital cinematography that always looks too contemporary, not a good sign for a period piece. There are attempts at realism via the unnecessary shaking of the camera and the addition of grain, obviously in post. Aside from all its aesthetic faults, this is a loyal and clean 1080p transfer.

Audio:

The DTS-HD 5.1 track is the only one that's offered and is fairly flat during the many overlong dialogue scenes. Predictably, all of the speakers come to life whenever Hendrix plays. Too bad all he plays are a couple of indistinguishable jams and the cover to Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. What happened to the many other covers he performed during this period?

Extras:

Music by Waddy, Lyrics by Danny: Musician Waddy Wachtel talks about Hendrix being the best guitar player of all time in this 4-minute clip. Somewhat pointless.

We also get a Trailer.

Final Thoughts:

Jimi: All Is by My Side is a colossal disappointment for hardcore Hendrix fans and definitely not a recommendation for newcomers to his music. Andre Benjamin surprisingly does a decent job with Hendrix but the movie around him fails him. Stick to concert films and the 1973 documentary.

Oktay Ege Kozak is a film critic and screenwriter based in Portland, Oregon. He also writes for The Playlist, The Oregon Herald, and Beyazperde.com