Film

Jimi: All Is by My Side

Name: Jimi: All Is by My Side
Genre: Drama, Music
Released: 2013
Cast: André 3000, Hayley Atwell, Imogen Poots, Burn Gorman, Ruth Negga

Biopic

Bootleg Records' John Ridley directs this unconventional Hendrix biopic, focusing on his transformative 1966 arrival in London rather than his greatest hits. André 3000 embodies the guitarist's mercurial genius, captured in intimate scenes with the women and managers who shaped him. It's a character study dressed as music history—introspective, visually striking, occasionally uneven.

TMDb rating

2.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you are drawn to quiet character studies where the music is felt more than performed, and you don't mind a portrait that keeps its distance from its famous subject.

Skip it if you want the expected rise-to-fame biopic with big concert set pieces, because this is restrained, often withholding, and it rarely gives the crowd-pleasing moments you might expect.

What it asks of you: It asks for patience across just under two hours, with long unhurried scenes and a lot of watching people in rooms rather than plot being pushed forward.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Love & Mercy2015

Another music biopic that prioritizes the interior world over the expected narrative. Focuses on Brian Wilson's creative process and fragility with genuine empathy and formal ambition.

But Splits its timeline awkwardly and moves slowly; requires patience with artistic struggle rather than rockstar mythology.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood2019

Tarantino's love letter to a specific moment in time—1969 LA—with the same focus on atmosphere and peripheral figures as Ridley brings to 1966 London. Visually intoxicating.

But Plot is secondary to vibe and digression; if you want forward momentum, you'll be frustrated.

I'm Not There2007

Todd Haynes's fragmented Dylan portrait, split across actors and eras, captures artistic transformation through form rather than chronology. Ambitious formal experimentation in service of myth-making.

But Deliberately obscure and non-linear; some will find it pretentious, others will be lost entirely.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Jimi: All Is by My Side

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Jimi Hendrix1973

The inverse of Ridley's approach: instead of imagining Hendrix's interiority, this lets his work and words speak. A necessary complement to the drama.

Released just after Hendrix's death, this documentary captures his actual performances and interviews rather than reimagining him. It's archival truth—his voice, his hands, his presence—and no actor can compete with that.

But Episodic and dated in its editing; the documentary form has aged visibly, and some segments feel thin.

Respect2021

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But Occasionally flattens complex family trauma into melodrama; pacing dips in the second half.

Crossfire Hurricane2012

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But Hagiography with better access than impartiality; doesn't interrogate the darkness, just celebrates it.

Cadillac Records2008

Follows the birth of electric blues and rock and roll through Chess Records, featuring Beyoncé, Mos Def, and Jeffrey Wright. Ensemble energy and real historical stakes.

But Occasionally simplifies its characters into types; some performances feel theatrical rather than lived.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story2007

Judd Apatow's demolition of music biopic clichés—the rise, the addiction, the redemption—is genuinely hilarious and oddly moving. John C. Reilly is committed and heartbreaking.

But Crass humor and lowbrow sensibility; if you dislike comedies built on repetition, this will wear thin.

Sid and Nancy1986

Alex Cox's punk-era portrait of doomed love and creative chaos. Grainy, visceral, utterly committed to its grimy aesthetic and tragic momentum.

But Deliberately squalid and bleak; the relationship is abusive and the film doesn't soften it. Emotionally punishing.

La Bamba1987

Tells the story of Ritchie Valens' brief, brilliant life with warmth and specificity. Lou Diamond Phillips is charismatic, and the film honors both its subject and the era.

But Glosses over the tragedy with a somewhat tidy narrative; biopic formula shows through the affection.

Phantom Thread2017

Both center an artist in a specific time and place (1950s London vs. 1966), exploring genius as isolation and the women who enter that space. Ridley's film moves outward while Anderson moves inward—complementary moods.

Paul Thomas Anderson's obsessive chamber piece about a London fashion designer and the woman who undoes him. Visually exquisite, psychologically complex, about the torment of creation and possession.

But Slow-burn psychological drama with minimal dialogue; the relationship becomes increasingly unsettling rather than romantic. Not a crowd-pleaser.

Moonlight2016

Like Ridley's film, it's interested in transformation and the moment someone becomes who they are—not the myth, but the cost and texture of becoming.

Barry Jenkins's three-act portrait of identity and desire across a life, each section formally reimagined. Intimate, formally gorgeous, concerned with vulnerability and the self that's performed vs. revealed.

But Glacially paced; the sparse dialogue and long silences demand active attention. Some will find it emotionally remote.