183. Tina; movie review

 

TINA

Cert 15

100 mins

BBFC advice: TBA

Oh, how I wished I had watched Tina Turner at Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

I liked her cover of the Al Green hit Let's Stay Together and I had an inkling that she would put on a good show and at the time I was watching lots of bands.

But for reasons I cannot recall, I wasn't among the 2,000 who saw her that night in February 1984 even though my student digs were only half a mile away.

What a mug I was because Turner became one of the hottest live tickets during the remainder of the decade and her career, which had been in the doldrums, became stratospheric.

This is emphasised during Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin's Tina - the documentary which the singer hopes will close the door on her career.

Although, as the movie indicates, she has intended that through previous books and films.

This movie gives a version of Tina's life from her perspective - it condemns her loveless parents for walking out on her and her siblings and goes on to criticise her mother for showing her no love.

It then goes over the well-worn history of how Ike used her great talent for her won ends although it does give him a slice of credit for innovation in rock and roll.

Following the split during which she only asked to keep her name, she made a glorious comeback in the 1980s under the new management of Roger Davies.

To be honest, there is very little which isn't contained within What's Love Got To Do With It - the 1993 biopic, starring Angele Bassett.

And I did wonder why Tina's four children were skirted over quite so easily, particularly Craig who took his own life in 2018.

Maybe motherhood is her Achilles heel but the concentration on husbands at the complete expense of her children did seem odd.

But that is probably what comes of an approved biopic - it merely offers exactly what Tina and her current other half, Erwin Bach, want us to see.

One suspects there is much more to it than that.

Nevertheless, she was a great singer - no doubt about it.

Reasons to watch: Pulls most of her life together

Reasons to avoid: Glossy and misses her children

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 6.5/10

Did you know? When Ike and Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, Ike couldn't attend as he was serving an 18-month stint for drug possession.

The final word. Dan Lindsay: "We definitely got the impression that the interview we did with her is probably the last thing she’s going to do. Tina worked for 60 years as a performer around the world – she wants to relax and enjoy her retirement.” NME

 

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