One of the most famous lines from Tina Turner’s career came in her introduction to the version of John Fogerty’s “Proud Mary” released by Ike & Tina Turner in 1971. “We never ever do nothing nice and easy,” she said in a sultry snarl. “We always do it nice and rough.”
“Tina,” the documentary about Turner that premiered at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival, has moments where it tries to be nice and easy, sliding over difficult portions in Turner’s life in an attempt to find a celebratory tone. But the film, too, mostly settles for nice and rough, which fits a woman who says in the film, “It wasn’t a good life.