What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)

Release date: 1993-06-25
Country: USA
Language: English
Director: Brian Gibson
Production Co: Touchstone Pictures
Genre: Drama, Biography, Music
Rating: 7.3/10
Length: 1h 58min

Storyline

Anna Mae Bullock always had a special voice. Soon after arriving in St. Louis to live with the mother who had walked out when she was small, she soon attracts the attention of pop group leader Ike Turner. She becomes his band's singer, his wife, and mother to his children - not all hers. In love with him and determined not to leave in the way her mother had, she finds herself the target of increasing violence from him who can't see who is making his band such a success.

Plot Keywords

based on true story, music industry, domestic violence, based on autobiography, title based on song, 1970s, 1960s, african american, marital abuse, soul music, marital rape, dysfunctional marriage, musician, african american woman, 1980s, african american protagonist, female protagonist, husband wife relationship, violence against women, drug addict

Short Review

A powerful portrait of emotional endurance, propelled by the outstanding performances of Bassett and Fishburne, both of whom lend a crucial dimension to the gradual redundancies of Kate Lanier's otherwise insightful screenplay.