Mediaboss Marketing

In recent years, biopics of famous musicians and artists have been increasingly popular, leading to immense success at the box office and during award season. Films like Bohemian Rhapsody, Elvis, Rocketman, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, and Love & Mercy have managed to honor the stories of legendary musicians in ways that appeal both to die hard fans and those who are unfamiliar with their music in the first place. Its easy to see why musician biopics are so popular: not only does working with these legendary artists give filmmakers a chance to utilize a great selection of songs, but the chaotic personal lives these performers lead provide a great basis for dramatic material. Theres often a built-in history that is more exciting than many fictional screenplays.

N.W.A. was one of the most influential rap groups of all-time, and it was inevitable that their story would be adapted for the big screen in some way. Straight Outta Compton had the benefit of being produced by Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, and was directed by F. Gary Gray. Although the film spans many years and incorporates many different sides of the music industry throughout the 1980s and 1990s, it is centered on the relationship between Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), Ice Cube (OShea Jackson Jr.), and Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins) as they grow up as childhood friends and leave a colossal impact on music, race relations, and culture during their careers together. While some musician biopics feel like nothing more than elevated Wikipedia articles, Straight Outta Compton shows the best that the genre can be.

Great musician biopics need to do something more than simply play the most iconic tracks from their artists discography. While its exciting to hear many of these great songs on the big screen, being nothing more than an elevated music video does not make a film worthy of the cinematic experience; additionally, this makes musician-based films harder to watch for those who arent familiar with the artists themselves. Thankfully, Straight Outta Compton does a great job at showing how inspiration begins. Its shown how over policing, societal injustice, and casual racism inspire Eazy-E, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre to begin expressing themselves through music. Theyre inspired to use the gifts that they have to cast a spotlight on the injustice within the world, creating an empowering experience.

Related: The Best Musical Biopics, Ranked

Theres also time dedicated to showing how difficult crafting a future classic can be. One of the films best scenes is the extended recording process where Eazy-E performs "Boyz-n-the-Hood" for the first time; he lacks experience, and has to deal with humorous criticism from Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. However, he slowly gains enough confidence to take a different approach to his craft, and the film shows the instant ramifications that the song has.

Theres also a significant amount of time dedicated to the complex, and often corrupt world of record producing and financial deals. Paul Giamatti delivers one of his strongest performances as Jerry Heller, N.W.A.s initial producer. While Heller defends his clients in the face of police harassment, he later underpays them and gets caught in an embezzlement scheme.

Straight Outta Compton benefits from an extraordinary ensemble, and Gray does a great job at balancing the screen time so that each artist can be shown for all their flaws and attributes. While casting OShea Jackson Jr. as his father could have been seen as nepotism, Jackson proved his doubters wrong and delivered an outstanding performance that was far more than an impersonation. He showed Ice Cubes leadership skills in pushing the group to be more radical and speak up in the face of skepticism. However, Jackson also showed a more sensitive side to his father; a scene towards the end when he goes to a hospital to see a dying Eazy-E is tear-inducing.

Related: These Are Some of the Best Movies About Musicians

Hawkins also delved into the complexity of Dr. Dre as he grows involved in more salacious activities. Theres a charm to the early scenes of Dre lying on his bed and listening to records, but later on, Dre gets into more violent altercations with his partners. Creating an aura of raw genius isnt easy, but Hawkins showed the sort of creative dexterity that Dre had during a scene where he collaborated with Snoop Dogg (Lakeith Stanfield).

Mitchells performance was incredibly emotional, as Eazy-Es death weighs heavily on the films narrative. Chicago Sun Times critic Richard Roeper praised Mitchells charismatic, ultimately heartbreaking performance, and Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers said Mitchells work was awards-caliber. While Eazy-E isnt always shown in the most positive light, Mitchell explored how his traumatic experiences shaped him into becoming one of the most influential voices of his time.

The scenes in Straight Outta Compton that show the live performances are truly electrifying. While some musician biopics cut corners by only showing clips of the most famous records, Straight Outta Compton builds up audience anticipation before the biggest shows. The film does an excellent job at showing how the growing controversy around gangsta rap puts pressure on N.W.A. during their 1989 concert tour. Their performance in Detroit is empowering because of the defiance that they show, and the film captures the instant chaos and blowback that occur once the police attempt to block the performance. The audience understands how this show could be both thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

Its also interesting to see how the artists personal relationships inspire their work. After N.W.A. calls out Ice Cube in one of their records, Ice Cube gets his revenge with the diss track No Vaseline. Since Jackson shows how stung he was by the initial criticism, its understandable why Ice Cube would lash out in such a public way. The films well-rounded view of the rap world also includes terrific guest roles for artists like Suge Knight (R. Marcos Taylor), Shorty (LaDell Preston), Sir Jinx (Cleavon McClendon), and Warren G (Sheldon A. Smith). The overwhelming excellence of all the films performances earned it a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Ensemble in a Motion Picture.

See the article here:
Why Straight Outta Compton Is One of the Best Music Biopics Ever ... - MovieWeb