T.J.Martin and Daniel Lindsay (“LA 92”) haven’t just over-stylized this documentary on Tina Turner’s life, they have, misguidingly, decided to exclusively let her tell the story. Usually, when the main subject of your documentary is willing to talk, that should be a good thing, but here the Queen of Rock n’ Roll, “the woman who taught Mick Jagger to dance,” seems reluctant to fully open up to the camera. We’re told Tina wanted to tell her own story so she can finally leave its scarring history behind her, but we’re left with more questions than answers by the end of it. Her abusive relationship with musician Ike Turner in the 1960s, depicted in “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” seems to still be a scar that won’t heal for Tina, to the point where you feel like she’s holding back a little too much in her revelations. If anything, “Tina” feels more like therapeutic closure for the singer than any sort of in-depth account of “what actually happened.” A non-chronological and messy telling of her life. She is more-than-willing to open up about her early career in music, which peaked with songs such as “River Deep Mountain High” and “Proud Mary,” however, with the more personal stuff, she comes off as coldly distanced from the viewer. “I don’t like to pull out old clothes” she tells Martin and Lindsay, and it’s that hesitation to fully reveal herself that makes “Tina” fail.
SCORE: C+