Since the enormous box office success of Bohemian Rhapsody, the Oscar-winning biopic of the band Queen, biopics have seen a resurgence. One biopic that has been in the works for several decades has been that of reggae legend and one of the 20th century’s great influential artists, Bob Marley. Arriving in the hands of King Richard director and helmer of HBO’s sensational limited series We Own This City Reinaldo Marcus Green, Bob Marley: One Love initially seems to buck the trend of clichéd biopics so scathingly satirized by Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. However, it ultimately gives way to a lesser, more hackneyed approach to storytelling.
Courtesy Paramount Pictures
Opening in 1976 as Jamaica is experiencing a swelling of political violence, we first meet Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir) as he makes the controversial decision to headline a peace concert in hopes of a ceasefire. Two days before the concert, Marley and his wife Rita (Lashana Lynch) survive an attempted assassination, only for Bob to double down and continue on with the concert. Shortly after, Bob takes a self-imposed exile to England, where he begins work on his next album, Exodus, which would go on to become his most influential album.
Bob Marley: One Love begins with an initially compelling hook, centering on a critical time in Marley’s life as opposed to telling his entire life story. However, as the film goes on, the narrative becomes more and more clichéd with one-the-nose flashbacks to Marley’s childhood and tidy narrative choices. Not helping matters is the scant 105 minute runtime that feels the need to speedrun through its many crucial moments, rendering the film frustratingly surface level. Director Reinaldo Marcus Green is unable to infuse much energy into the film, with the runtime feeling much longer than it actually is.
Courtesy Paramount Pictures
Kingsley Ben-Adir’s transformative, lived-in performance as Bob Marley is worthy of a much better film. Ben-Adir, no stranger to playing real-life figures playing Malcolm X in Regina King’s One Night in Miami and President Obama in the Showtime miniseries The Comey Rule, portrays Marley as a man of great warmth and care. Marley was a man of great complexity, so it’s disappointing just how little of that comes across in the film. Bob Marley: One Love very much suffers from Authorized Biopic Syndrome, meaning any real in-depth look at Marley, his complexities and his alleged infidelity, are all but skated over. You simply don’t walk away from this film with any more knowledge of Marley and why he was such an influence than you did beforehand. The film never shows, or tells, us why Marley was such an influence on the culture, refusing to let us in on his creative process. Lashana Lynch, an actor of otherworldly charisma, is left stranded with a portrayal of Rita Marley that feel short-changed at every opportunity.
In the year 2024, it’s just unacceptable to see a film abiding by the many biopic clichés Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story satirized and put to rest over sixteen years ago. While there is some fun in seeing the creation of a song such as “Exodus”, it follows the very same approach we’ve seen in films such as Bohemian Rhapsody and Walk the Line. Too often are moments that are played for dramatic power, but end up feeling silly. One sequence sees Marley’s would-be assassin begging for forgiveness and the very next scene shows Marley performing “Redemption Song” — which would not be released for another three years. The first time Marley and his entourage are seen in England, they go to see The Clash, only for the Police to show up in riot gear. Subtlety is just not on this film’s radar.
The Jamaican setting and period detail is lusciously recreated, giving the film an authenticity it so clearly needs, but ultimately serves as mere window dressing. Cinematographer Robert Elswitt lends his skills well to the films vibrant visual palette. Notably, the film has these recurring visions of a field from Marley’s childhood engulfed in flames that are quite striking.
Courtesy Paramount Pictures
There is an important, necessary film behind the life of Bob Marley, but this is not that film. Bob Marley: One Love is a superficial biopic that strictly adheres to beyond-tired tropes of the biopic genre. Stars Kingsley Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch are undervalued in a safe, generic film that aims to tell a surface level look at a man who was anything but.
Bob Marley: One Love is now playing in theaters.
Agreed with everything pretty much said! I was in awe that it was Kingsley Ben-Adir playing a Marley once the credits hit. I think I knew it but completely forgot it as I was watching the film. Pretty high compliment on his end. Him and Lashana are definitely this films only saving grace.
This looks like a train wreck. My only hope is it’s better than Bohemian Rhapsody.
Gonna pass on this
The leads were amazing. The soundtrack excellent. I agree with the review, it does give surface level depth. And some parts seemed contrived. Kind of a cliff notes Bob Marley story. But I enjoyed it for what is was. And I was toe tapping through out the film.