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Hey Mofos!
I had the chance to check out a screening of the film Bob Marley: One Love, it's in theaters on Valentine's Day!
I will start out saying it was a good biopic, but it wasn't GREAT. I don't know about y'all but I didn't know much about Bob Marley except for some of his legendary music and that he died at 36 years old.
The film directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, celebrates the life and music of a Reggae icon who inspired generations through his message of love and unity. During the movie, you get to learn Marley's powerful story of overcoming childhood adversity, political drama, and eventually the journey behind his revolutionary music. Kingsley Ben-Adir stars as Bob Marley and Lashana Lynch plays his wife Rita Marley.
The film opens in 1976 when Marley is about to play a peace concert in Kingston, Jamaica to heal the rift due to political ish. There's rival gangs, political parties, and pure chaos at this time. Marley can't even protect himself from the violence hitting too close to home. Before the concert, there's a home invasion and Rita is shot, along with his manager, and Marley escapes with a flesh wound. Marley ultimately decides it's time to leave Jamaica. The film is set against the next two years and ends up recording the iconic album "Exodus."
It was nice to see a snapshot of Marley in the light of a family man, a devout Rastafarian, a musician, and a man but it paints a picture of how he evolved into a super star with a message.
Here's my issue.. by limiting us to a 2 year period of his life, we don't actually get to see much of his actual childhood, except a few flashbacks. I would have loved to know how he got into music, and that journey. There is one studio scene with the Wailing Wailers that will have you tapping your feet, but there's still no clear pathway on how reggae became the powerhouse genre it became. Marley spends some of the end of the film planning a concert in Jamaica after learning he's sick with a rare skin cancer, but I also would have loved to have seen how he handled his illness. The movie is named "One Love" and a clip of the real Bob Marley is singing it. WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE CONCERT? A true biopic would give us all the tea. This gave us a lukewarm version of his life story.
The music took me back to my own childhood of listening to my dad play Marley's music so the nostalgia was there. The film left me wanting to know more about Marley's life and wanting to know more about the stories behind the music.
The actors were amazing in the film. I enjoyed watching them--so maybe just maybe a part two could come out? A Netflix series? Something??
Let me know if y'all go check it out!
~Meik
