Nina (2016) | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

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41 Reviews

25%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Manager Clifton Henderson (David Oyelowo) helps singer and pianist Nina Simone (Zoe Saldana) rediscover her love for music.

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Nina

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Critics Consensus

A wholly misguided tribute to its subject's searing talent and enduring impact, Nina is the cinematic equivalent of a covers project featuring all the wrong artists.

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Critics Reviews

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Dwight Brown

National Newspaper Publishers Association

This film had a great opportunity to take a once-in-a-lifetime story about a troubled, legendary singer, and add insight. Nina, in the most frustrating way, bungles that mission.

Nov 7, 2016

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Kimber Myers

The Playlist

An insult to the legacy of the High Priestess of Soul, those looking for a richer exploration of the woman, artist, activist and legend, are best served elsewhere.

Rated: D

May 18, 2016

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Katie Walsh

Los Angeles Times

Never seems authentic or real, just a bizarrely staged re-creation.

May 5, 2016

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Sarah Marrs

Lainey Gossip

Nina feels like a movie made by people who fundamentally misunderstood Nina Simone. It conclusively proves that representation behind the camera is as important as representation on screen.

Oct 14, 2017

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Noah Gittell

Washington City Paper

If this is a greatest hits album, Nina picks the least-accessible songs and then puts them all in the wrong order.

May 20, 2016

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Wilson Morales

BlackFilm.com

While Saldana gives her very best in trying to embody the essence of Miss Simone with equal support from co-star David Oyelowo, both are confined to a weak script and for Saldana, probably the worst makeup job she's had on the big screen.

Rated: 1/4

Apr 29, 2016

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Audience Reviews

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Benjamin K Nina - just a movie - why do peppel hat dis movie they try make a good movie shame on you america sucks🤬🤬🤬😤 Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/25/24 Full Review Banana W Its too Bad.....dont watch it Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/24/24 Full Review Audience Member nina is a film that has a great script but the actors and the cast is not so good. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member As far as autobiographies girl Nina is definitely at the bottom of the barrel. After watching this film I learned very little about Nina and a bunch of the film is her just singing music. The movie is miss cast with what seems forced performances. The script was also pretty bad. The movie had good intentions but it’s also pretty boring. Rated 1.5/5 Stars • Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 08/19/20 Full Review Audience Member awful. poorly casted, poorly written. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member Terrible casting; it tanked the entire movie. Nina's story needs to be told, but not like this. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

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Cynthia Mort Director Zoe Saldaña Nina Simone David Oyelowo Clifton Henderson Ronald Guttman Henri Edwards Keith David Clifton's Father Ella Joyce Clifton's Mom

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Nina

Nina: Trailer 1

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Nina

Nina (2016)

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Synopsis Manager Clifton Henderson (David Oyelowo) helps singer and pianist Nina Simone (Zoe Saldana) rediscover her love for music.

Director: Cynthia Mort
Producer: Stuart Parr, Cynthia Mort, Barnaby Thompson, Ben Latham-Jones
Screenwriter: Cynthia Mort
Distributor: RLJ Entertainment
Production Co: Parr Pictures, Fragile Films, 66 Productions, Londinium Films, Huntsman Productions
Genre: Biography, History, Drama, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 22, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 6, 2017
Runtime: 1h 30m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital