Almost every little thing is gonna be alright in this doc.
The legacy of Bob Marley is ageless, and it’s impossible to forget his reggae music and their messages within them. It’s all about trying to find unity within everyone, despite the ongoing conflicts between race, class, and politics. Born in 1945 and died in 1981, his voice and lyrics has helped make him a household name, and we should appreciate him for the inspiration he has given to us.
The new biopic “Bob Marley: One Love,” which is also the first theatrical telling of his legacy since the documentary “Marley,” has its flaws in terms of its screenplay, which isn’t always balanced, but it does have a lot of spirit and faithfulness to the singer. The actor who plays him is Kingsley Ben-Adir, known to most movie goers as one of the Kens in Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” and known to independent film lovers as Malcolm X in “One Night in Miami.” He fits the part of Bob Marley quite well, especially when he adapts to the Jamaican accent and hairstyle.
As the movie opens, Bob decides to host a peace concert, known as “Smile Jamaica,” in an attempt to bring everyone together in a time when a political war has broken out. Two days before the concert, he was shot, but recovered enough to perform with The Wailers to the crowd.
His wife Rita (Lashana Lynch) and producer Don Taylor (Anthony Welsh) also survives the shooting, so all three of them got lucky. There isn’t much of Don’s side in the movie, but Rita is given some more spotlight, as must take care of their children while he goes on concert. She wants him to not lose sight of who he is, but of course, conflicts like that emerge within. “I need more than a house and a car and more than money,” she says.
“Bob Marley: One Love” was co-written and directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green in his first film since “King Richard.” It was also produced by the Plan B company (which features Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner), as well as Marley’s family-Rita, their son Ziggy, and their daughter Cedella. And the writers also consist of Terence Winter (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” “Shooting Stars”), Frank E. Flowers (“Shooting Stars”), and Zach Baylin (reuniting with Green from “King Richard”).
Now, the screenplay isn’t perfect as it doesn’t delve deep into his early years, like how his father was a white ex-naval officer named Norval Marley or how he got into music business. But what does work is the direction from Green, support from Marley’s family, and the performances from Ben-Adir and Lynch. Thinking back to some of the recent music biopics, we should be grateful that it’s not as a pig-headed or self-congratulatory as the Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but rather in the same low key aspect of “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” or “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” “Bob Marley: One Love” doesn’t care about money or glamour; it cares about the late, great singer. And as he said: “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.”
I’m sorry if I don’t know everyone’s life story, but I try my best to be as relevant as possible. I may not be one of the film’s screenwriters, but I can sense when a biopic about this reggae legend wants to be as free-spirited and truthful as he was. And that’s makes us overcome the cynicisms. Well, at least some of us try to overcome them, based on Rotten Tomatoes’ current score.
