If you have Netflix, you need to sit your butt down in front of your TV, turn to Netflix and give all your attention to What Happened, Miss Simone? What Happened, Miss Simone? uses archival footage, interviews and occasional reenactment scenes to represent North Carolina black and white childhood scenes to create a riveting documentary about the life of pianist, singer, song writer and Civil Rights activist Nina Simone. What Happened, Miss Simone? does a great job of deciding when to let the viewers fill in the blanks (Simone was sleep walking during a tour with Bill Cosby and repeated allusions to the trauma of crossing the tracks in the segregated South) and explicitly giving information about the role that violence and mental illness played in her life. What Happened, Miss Simone? perfectly represents her difficulties without diminishing her innate coolness and power. What Happened, Miss Simone? perfectly sets the stage for her place in a particular time and place in history as the best friend of Lorraine Hansberry, next door neighbor of the Shabazz family (i.e. Malcolm X) and other famous friends. Even if you have no interest in music or history, you could just mute What Happened, Miss Simone? and enjoy the beauty of the woman and her fashion sense. I completely get why the fabulous Zoe Saldana is completely wrong for the role. A younger Viola Davis could do it. I think that I’ll be skipping the fictional version and stick with What Happened, Miss Simone?