Jimi: All Is By My Side - Film Review

Biopics about iconic musicians present filmmakers with a dilemma: ought they focus on career, character or music?  
John Ridley had additional woes. He was unable to secure the rights to Hendrix’s music. So he chose to set the story before Hendrix wrote his best-known hits. The focus is 1966, when Hendrix was living in London (represented by Dublin), and on the cusp of fame.
Rooted in André Benjamin’s (aka Outkast’s Andre 3000) performance as the enigmatic musician, the film is multi-faceted and unpredictable.
It can be confusing too. Dialogue overlaps, newsreel footage accompanies intimate conversations. The goal, one assumes, is to evoke the experimental art scene of the sixties.
Hendrix’s relationships with women are presented in relatively linear fashion. Imogen Poots and Hayley Atwell are excellent as Linda Keith and Kathy Etchington. The movie also deals with the racism Hendrix experienced in the UK.
The film is a bit all over the place. But, for all its flaws, it offers an interesting take on Hendrix and the early flourishing of his talent.