The challenge with a biopic is to layer the truth with the legendary, to weave the introspective with the iconic. Bob Marley: One Love attains a delicate symphony, and while it occasionally loses focus due to multiple themes, Marley’s legacy is mighty enough to keep us singing along.
Director Reinaldo Marcus Green brings together a vision that reconciles reverence for Marley’s mythos, the continued relevance of the movement today, and the family’s desire to share their love and legacy. In this way, Bob Marley: One Love is almost folkloric, resembling the oral histories that are passed down among communities. Like one of the pivotal scenes late in the movie, I envisioned families sitting around fire pits, telling this tale for generations and singing the songs. After talking with Green, that is indeed the vision. (GGR interview coming soon).
Those many considerations sometimes result in a carefully curated art exhibit rather than digging deep into the raw materials that make a life so rich—the dirt and all. There are elements of: mythology, unconventional romance, traditional biopic, political upheaval, the making of an opus, and the death of an icon. Yet they sometimes compete for screen time and result in somewhat of an abstraction. Perhaps a focus on one theme, one time, and one purpose would have allowed the storytelling to fully blossom. The direction, the performances, the cinematography, and the production design are all top-tier, and we already know the soundtrack, with an assist from Kris Bowers, does not miss.
Kingsley Ben-Adir steps into the role seamlessly. He embodies Bob, from that faraway gaze that sees beyond the present moment to the way he danced with such abandon—as if the music and the spirit were one. Ben-Adir’s performance captures the essence of the Bob Marley we thought we knew, alongside the subtle intimacies of his off-stage persona.
As for Bob and Rita Marley’s relationship, the filmmakers opt for a tender form of aromanticism, more akin to soulmates than the fiery passion the audience might expect. This choice is a nod to the complexities of their love, infidelities, and unbreakable support for each other. It is a dynamic that will only ever truly be understood by Bob and Rita and, as such, it is well done. My favorite scene is one where Rita watches Bob through the spindles of a banister; it is all at once revealing but obscured, intimate but distant, and it is beautiful.
Lynch as Rita Marley retains the title: Lashana THEE Lynch. We need to speak in praise of Lashana more often because she never fails. Her Rita is a kaleidoscope of grace, resilience, and vivid emotional colors. If Bob Marley: One Love is an art exhibit, Lynch’s performance is the interactive work of art at its center, drawing us in and telling us why we’re here for this particular show. The movie is at its best when it focuses on the dance between Ben-Adir and Lynch.
RIOTUS 