THE FILM
TITLE: Bob Marley: One Love
RELEASE DATE: 14 Feb 2024
WATCH DATE: 04 Apr 2024
TYPE: live-action feature film
ACCESS: movie theater
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THE PEOPLE
DIRECTOR: Reinaldo Marcus Green
PRODUCER: Ziggy Marley, Rita Marley, Cedella Marley, Robert Teitel, Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner, Petra Holtorf, Becca Kelly, Katherine Tibbetts, Clement Virgo
WRITER: Zach Baylin, Frank E. Flowers, Terence Winter, Reinaldo Marcus Green
ACTORS: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton, Tosin Cole, Umi Myers, Anthony Welsh
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THE STORY
RUNTIME: 1h 47m
STORYLINE: a musician creates music in a time of political turmoil in Jamaica, music that brings peace and people together to end violence
GENRE/THEMES: biopic, drama, reggae music, gang violence, division & peace, unity
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THE CRITIQUE
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
Let me preface this review by saying I know nothing about Bob Marley.
I wanted to see this film for Kingsley Ben-Adir’s portrayal of this iconic figure.
Bob Marley: One Love is the story of the titular musician’s life between the “Smile Jamaica” and the “Bob Marley: One Love” concerts. It is a standard biopic and shows his rise to global fame and the relational challenges that come along with it.
The film opening and closing with intertitles seems a safe way to frame the story... a montage (like we saw in Golda) would have been a stronger opening to set the tone for the film.
Kingsley's portrayal of Marley is well-rounded and shows depth and understanding of the person. His Jamaican accent sounds hyper-authentic, but unfortunately to the point where it's incredibly tough to understand him. I missed half his lines. I would have appreciated more pronunciation from him, similar to the way Lynch delivered her lines. Kingsley brought a physicality to this role, in his appearance - no doubt thanks to the makeup & hairstyling department - shot out to them for the dreads!!! - which his features are perfect for, but also in his mannerisms and movement. This aspect of his acting made Bob Marley tangible and believable.
Lashana Lynch brought power to this film. Bob Marley is the soul and of course the voice, but Rita felt like the heart. Her survival from the shooting showed resilience, and that set the tone for her character throughout the rest of the film. She has some of the most memorable lines from the film and delivers them with that same strength.
There are a lot of missed opportunities to take creative risks with Marley’s flashbacks. With a lot of the missed dialogue, these scenes felt powerful - which was supported by the score - but lacked the meaning written into the script but missed in the line delivery. The film is titled after the concert by the same name… but I wanted to see more about Bob Marley’s life, he himself. Everyone knows he’s musically famous, and ignited the global reggae movement, but what about his younger life? There were flashbacks to his life as a teenager and his budding relationship with Rita, but those were cut short. I wanted more of that - how did he become who he is? Also, the weight of the gang violence in Jamaica was lost. It was mentioned and touched on in some short scenes, established so that is not missing from the context, but again: an opening montage to set the stage would have been more impactful.
Good performances, great hairstyling - and the music of course is the driving factor throughout the whole film. Nothing crazy special, but definitely worth a watch.
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THE RECEPTION
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THE IMPRESSION
IN A SINGLE WORD: admirable
MOST STRIKING ELEMENT: acting, Ben-Adir’s performance
REWATCH: no
RATING: 2.5 // 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐
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