The Collegio Pittsburg's student voice since 1916
Luke Geier reporter
It seems as if Musician biopics are becoming a popular genre these days in the film world. In the past decade, we’ve seen iconic performers and bands such as Elvis, Queen, Elton John, and many more portrayed on the big screen. It doesn’t seem like the demand for these films is going to slow down anytime soon, and the latest entry, released on February 14th, followed the story of the widely influential Bob Marley.
Bob Marley: One Love follows the story of Marley’s rise to fame around the world at the same time as the rising political feud between Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley and opposition leader Edward Seaga.
After surviving a gun attack at his home just days before Marley was set to perform at the Smile Jamaica concert, Marley sends his wife Rita to stay with his mother in the States while he and several members of his band travel to London, deciding it’s too unsafe for them to stay in Jamaica.
While in London, Marley struggles to find the right sound for his new album after deciding it’s time to record new music. After several trial-and-error attempts, Marley finally discovers the perfect sound for the album that would set the trajectory for one of the most influential albums of all time, Exodus.
Possibly the best part of the film is Kingsley Ben-Adir’s portrayal of Bob Marley. Ben-Adir seems to vanish completely into his character and perfectly encapsulates Marley’s unique personality on a scale that can almost be compared to Austin Butler’s portrayal of Elvis in the 2022 film Elvis.
Lashana Lynch also gives an admirable performance as singer and Marley’s wife, Rita Marley. As Bob Marley struggles with decisions facing how to approach the divide in his home country, Lynch’s portrayal of Rita Marley perfectly complements Ben-Adir’s, and the only gripe one may have about her character is that the actress should’ve been given much more time on the screen to shine.
While director Reinaldo Marcus Green does an incredible job of immersing the audience with impressive musical breaks and vivid 70’s imagery, the movie seems to fall short in the story as well as its motive.
Everything seems to be going well in the first half of the film, and the setup for an interesting storyline is at arm’s reach, but the film lags immensely in the second half as Marley and his bandmate’s touring journey seems to offer nothing to the story except a few interesting visuals and emotional moments that are too drawn out to keep the audience on their toes.
While the movie does pick back up towards the end of its one hour and forty-seven-minute runtime, it’s too late to salvage the dull and uninteresting moments that took place in between, leaving the film much more a series of incomplete thoughts than a fully fletched out story.
Overall, Bob Marley: One Love shines in its lead performances and unique era eccentric visuals but lacks overall in providing a story that will grip audiences for years to come. I rate this film a 3/5.