Black History Month Movie Review: One Love
Bob Marley biopic focuses on the Exodus years
One Love, the Bob Marley biopic, arrived with great anticipation (by me, at least). The film didn’t ruin my excitement. I was drawn into Bob’s story thanks to the superb acting of Kingsley Ben-Adir (Bob Marley) and Lashana Lynch (Rita Marley). The movie focuses on the period of Bob’s life from his assassination attempt in Jamaica through his exile in London and climaxing with his return to Jamaica for the One Love Peace Concert. We get just glimpses of Bob’s early life through flashbacks. I wish there were more of those flashbacks and less of scenes such as Bob and the Wailers rehearsing or writing songs.
The actors use authentic Jamaican patois throughout the film which made it hard to follow the dialogue to my American ears. But I appreciate the authenticity and Ben-Adir’s charismatic performance pulled me in.
I read a biography on Bob before watching the movie, so I was able to pick out unexplained details that others may have missed. In one flashback sequence, a young Bob and Rita are shown courting each other. In one clip, Bob inspects Rita’s hand. Many of Bob’s friends believed that he was psychic, and as a child, Bob did some palm reading. The clip was short and you’d miss it if you didn’t know that about his early life.
The original Wailers – Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer – are totally ignored, as is his lover while in London, Cindy Breakspeare. The Marley family does allow some human frailties to show. Rita and Bob have an intense argument over each other’s infidelities, and Bob beats up his manager who was suspected of stealing money.
When Bob triumphantly takes the stage for the One Love Peace concert at the end of the movie, the credits roll instead of giving one more enacted live performance. It left me wanting more because the live concert scenes are incredibly well done.
Overall, the movie is well done and I liked it. I recommend it but if this is your first look at Bob’s life, you may find yourself wanting more detail. Watch the 2012 documentary titled Marley, also family-approved, for a more detailed look at Bob’s life.
Thanks, Tom.