It was worrisome at first to learn that the upcoming Jimi Hendrix biopic starring Andre Benjamin would not feature any of the late artists’ original music due to his estate’s disapproval of the film. But now we have a first look at the charismatic Outkast member embodying the rock and roller in All Is by My Side, and it’s actually quite promising. In the very brief clip featuring Imogen Poots as Linda Keith (the British model famous for helping to launch Hendrix’s career), Benjamin definitely has the vocal intonations down pat.
The movie, written and directed by John Ridley (who just won the adapted screenplay Oscar for 12 Years a Slave), premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last fall to good reviews. Said Owen Gleiberman of its lack of original Hendrix music: “It’s not just that Hendrix really was playing covers back then—it’s that we don’t need to hear the sonic crash and burn of ‘Purple Haze’ one more time to experience who he is.”
