By CYNTHIA BIDDLECOMB
Los Alamos
“Bob Marley: One Love” was released to theaters on Valentine’s Day and is now playing at SALA Event Center in Los Alamos.
The music, acting, and cinematography are excellent in this film, as is the glimpse of Jamaican history. Spliced into the action occasionally is historic footage taken in Jamaica and of Marley.
Bob Marley is played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, perhaps known for his role as Malcolm X in One Night in Miami, but most recently seen as one of the singing Kens in the Barbie movie. Ben-Adir is fairly convincing as Marley, studiously imitating the musical style of the reggae star, as well as speaking in Jamaican patois. Ben-Adir holds his own, singing, as we are allowed to witness Marley’s creative process, alone with his guitar, or in the midst of his band.
A hugely influential figure in Bob Marley’s life was his wife Rita Anderson Marley, played here by Lashana Lynch (Nomi in No Time to Die). Throughout the film Rita is a stunning presence, steadfast in her support of Bob and of his role as an anointed messenger of Rastafari ideals.
This is a very watchable bio-pic about the person and the reggae star. It begins in 1976, just five years before Marley died of a rare form of melanoma. The film highlights this period of his life and music career, providing flashbacks, even to his modest origins in Jamaica.
In the first half of the film, the beauty of Jamaica may enthrall the viewer. Idyllic island scenes provide stark contrast with the reality of brewing political violence; a near civil war is taking place on the island. Marley, himself, refuses to take sides, frustrating both parties. Somehow, he survives an assassination attempt. But this event leads Marley to emigrate to London, England, leaving his wife and children, so as to keep them from being targeted. (They move to the U.S.)
We are given a deeply spiritual Bob Marley, here, dedicated to Rastafarian ideals of justice, peace, and Pan-Africanism—a movement to strengthen bonds among the African diaspora worldwide. Marley and the Rasta people stand out in Jamaica, living peaceably despite the effects of historical degradation of a once brutally enslaved population. Converting in the sixties to Rastafari—which originated in Jamaica in the 1930s—Marley grew dreadlocks and joined in the religious use of ganja, regularly smoking cannabis. In many film scenes cannabis is incidentally in use among band members, leaving studio rehearsals foggy with ganja smoke.
Viewers may find themselves frustrated, trying to understand the dialogue in a great many scenes among the Jamaican characters; authentic Jamaican patois is an “English-based creole.” Perhaps the producers gave too much benefit of the doubt, thinking we would catch on to the dialogue more than we do. But one needn’t understand every word of the dialogue to follow the plot. The effect did leave this reviewer admiring the actors who are not native to Jamaica.
The MPAA has rated Bob Marley: One Love “PG-13 for marijuana use and smoking throughout, some violence and brief strong language.” But on the plus side, the music just might get you moving and may keep you dancing, even as you leave the theater with a smile on your face.
