Bob Marley: One Love, tells the story of Bob Marley’s life and how he became such an influential voice in music and in politics with excellent acting, and compelling producing, but the film lacked some attention to detail.
The film kicks off in Kingston, Jamaica where there was a great division in their political state due to the struggle for power, and assimilating from that came profound violence that spread all throughout the nation. Lead actor, Kingsley Ben-Adir does a wonderful job portraying Bob Marley and honoring his legacy. From the start of the film Ben-Adir captures Marley’s mannerisms, mimicking what Marley had been like during his “golden age”. Towards the first part of the film, we see Ben-Adir portray Marley at the One Love Peace Concert, depicting almost identically how Marley danced around on stage, with his eyes closed, being one with the music during his performances, which proves to be true as the film offers real flashbacks to Marley’s One Love Peace concert in 1978. Ben-Adir also did well in depicting the ups and downs of Marley’s tour following the release of his Exodus album, from the stress Marley faced in his newfound fame, and all the new people he met along the way, to his cancer diagnosis, Ben-Adir showed a great display of character.
It wasn’t just Ben-Adir that did an outstanding job, Lashana Lynch who played Rita Marley, Bob’s wife, was incredible at telling Bob’s story from a different perspective. Throughout the film, we see Lynch depict what it was like to be a victim of the ongoing violence, take care of all their kids while their fathers popularity soared sending him all around the world, and be apart of Marley’s band. Lynch’s and Ben-Adirs display during the film also gives the audience more insight into the more domestic side of Marley lifes away from all the public eye, and were even able to see moments where Marley’s life wasn’t picture perfect like the rift between him and his wife in Paris due to how fame was changing him. Along with Ben-Adir and Lynch, the film also incorporated many strong actors to play The Wailers, the band the Marley worked with, and highlighted how they were put in the spotlight from Marley’s tour and feature on Exodus, but also how they made a name for themselves with roots in Jamaica.
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, and produced by some prominent members of Marley’s life, One Love captured all the little details in Marley’s rise to fame. With people like Marley’s son Ziggy, Marley’s daughter Cedella, and Marley’s wife Rita contributing to the film, it certainly was an accurate portrayal of Marley’s life. Ziggy and Cedella Marley were able to provide directors with much needed insight into what Bob’s early years of fame were like, but also what his life was like away from music. It’s clear that some scenes in the movie wouldn’t be depicted properly without them. For example, the scene where violence had affected their communities and family, the scene where Marley had made the decision to go to London and share his music with the world, and the scene where Rita and the children had fled to the States and the depiction of their time there. At the end of the film, they display a message from Ziggy Marley depicting the process and creative direction of the movie. He tells the audience how he was onset almost everyday during the process, ensuring that the film they were releasing to the public was authentic and real. The film staff also did a tremendous job, highlighting all of Marley’s songs that captivated people worldwide, making the film very engaging and nostalgic for the audience.
While the film did cover the most important parts of Marley’s rise to fame, one could argue that many of the little things that really pulled his entire story together were absent. Throughout the film we get glimpses into Marley’s childhood, and the environment he grew up in, but the film lacked in explaining how his upbringing was different from most in Jamaica and how it affected him throughout his life. We also get to see what Marley’s experience was like abroad, but the screen writers, directors, and producers left out a significant portion of what Marley got into away from the stage that put his name in headlines for different reasons than his success in music.
Another detail that wasn’t really talked about, but was still a major part of Marley’s life was his diagnosis of skin cancer following an appointment to get his injured toe looked at. During the film his diagnosis was revealed, but the film staff failed to acknowledge why Marley chose not to receive treatment, they showed a few more scenes of Ben-Adir portraying Marley on tour, then ended with a tribute to Marley’s life and showed real videos from some of his time on tour. Marley was a proud Rastafarian, and never let his faith be affected by his fame, while his religion was touched on briefly during the film, it would have been helpful for the audience to get some more information about the religion, as it did not support removal of any extremity, hence why Marley would not receive the treatment he need to cure his cancer, which would have been an amputation to stop the spread.
Overall, Bob Marley: One Love was a well constructed film that drew in many people worldwide to tell the story of music legend Bob Marley, and all that he did for the reggae genre but also for his heroic act in bringing his nation together through music.
(photo courtesy of Olivia Gordon)
(photo courtesy of Olivia Gordon)
