A respectful but disappointing biopic
There have been a slew of biopics about legendary musicians in the last few years, so it was inevitable that Reggae’s number 1 superstar Bob Marley would get one too, and here it is in Bob Marley: One Love.
From the director of King Richard, Reinaldo Marcus Green, this film clearly respects its subject matter, and Marley’s music is abundant throughout, which will delight his many fans. Unfortunately, there isn’t much substance to the story, and we don’t get the opportunity to see beneath the surface of the real man. There is a flashback of Marley as a boy running from a fire that keeps popping up over and over, and it starts to become tedious as there is no explanation for it.
The film begins in 1976, when Marley is already a very big star. He’s an icon in Jamaica and has achieved the ultimate for any musician: he’s cracked America. The backdrop to Marley’s story is the violence in his politically divided homeland with the musician desperate to unite people. Marley survives an attempted assassination alongside his wife, Rita, but he won’t back down and goes ahead with a big gig despite warnings.
For much of the runtime, it feels like it’s going through the motions of Marley’s life, hitting all the big notes and not really taking the opportunity to delve into a more nuanced portrayal of Jamaica’s best selling artist. The performances are decent, with No Time To Die‘s Lashana Lynch being the highlight as Marley’s long-suffering wife, Rita. James Norton and Michael Gandolfini turn up as music producers desperate to cash in on Marley’s talent, rather than spread his word in Africa. They aren’t given much to do, but do the best with what they’ve got.
There’s a feeling that with a better script, there could’ve been a really epic story to be told about Bob Marley, but instead Bob Marley: One Love chooses to play the greatest hits and show us what we already knew about the man.
Read more: Bob Marley: One Love Ending Explained
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Verdict - 6/10
6/10