What's Love Got to Do with It

A discreet biographical film, that seems to me to fulfill its role.

Even those who don't like her, I think, have the honesty to recognize the impact and relevance of Tina Turner's music. She doesn't please everyone (nobody pleases everyone) but it is still a reference in 20th century music. Owner of a record that is hard to match, she has several awards, several Grammys and two stars on the Walk of Fame, among other honors. The film we have here, heavily based on the singer's autobiography, shows us a little of her personal life, how she became famous and her difficult marriage to Ike Turner.

I never read the original book, but I believe the movie omits a lot of information and data to try to focus on the main thing. Brian Gibson ...

Andrea Bassett provides quite a compelling interpretation of the early life of Tina Turner here and Laurence Fishburne is also on good form as the brutish Ike. Born Annie Mae Bullock, she grows up in a community where singing is important and where her voice helps her to stand out. Pretty swiftly she attracts the notice of local band leader Ike Turner who gives her a start fronting his music before she becomes his wife and a mother. Success begins to follow but as that happens he turns into a monster. She is beaten regularly and feels more and more intimidated and fearful within her own marriage. Her society just wasn't geared up for a woman to leave her husband, however violent, and so with their business and family lives so completely int...