Few people have never heard the name or music of Bob Marley as his talents have endured long after his brief life ended.
Fewer though know the backstory of the world in which he lived and how it fueled his creativity and desire to spread messages of love, peace, and unity.
Kingsley Ben-Adir stars as Bob Marley in “Bob Marley: One Love” and the film opens in 1976 in a deeply divided and violent Jamaica. The country is recently independent of Great Britain and violence has erupted in the streets between rival factions seeking power ahead of an election.
Marley attempts to do a free show to unify the people despite warnings against doing so and an attempt on his life and that of his wife and band.
The film then follows Marley as he travels to London to record his landmark Exodus album and the subsequent tour and aftermath of his rise.
As anyone who has seen a biopic will likely guess that fame does have unexpected complications and while the film entertains, it drags at times and I think did mot delve deep enough into his past as it is told mainly via flashbacks and his complicated personal problems are not developed as fully as they should have been as the focus was mainly on 1976-1979.
The performances were great as was the music but I struggled at times to fully understand what was being said dur to the heavy accents which sadly I was not well-versed in enough to fully catch at times and wished for a captions options.
While some may say the focus was too narrow to properly do justice to the man and his music; I found it to be compelling and entertaining and gave me a new appreciation for his work and legacy.
3.5 stars out of 5
