Roots, rock, reggae — A review of 'Bob Marley: One Love'

In 1976, Marley is already popular and famous as a reggae musician in Jamaica, thanks to his rise as a talented star mixing a furious brand of activism with the chill vibes of reggae life and throwing in the religious underpinnings of Rastafarianism.

Due to his popularity and his habit of writing songs about oppression, rebellion and other incendiary political matters, Marley falls in the middle between warring factions in Jamaica. One group makes a failed attempt at his life. For his safety and recovery, he temporarily moves to London where, thanks to his successful career, he has connections. As part of his therapy, he turns to his art and works on new music.

There are several important but brief flashbacks to Marley’s early days. We see him growing up in poverty as a mixed race boy in the destitute parts of Kingston. We watch him meet his future wife Rita and how that relationship so heavily informed his life and music. We observe him in his teen years getting started in music with the Wailing Wailers that eventually would turn into Bob Marley and the Wailers. And we witness his introduction to, and embrace of, Rastafarianism.

This film is essentially the making-of-story of the band’s album “Exodus.” Director Reinaldo Marcus Green uses this time in Marley’s life to sketch out the rest of his story and his ultimate legacy. Green previously directed “King Richard,” the story of Venus and Serena Williams’ father, so he is experienced at the biopic.

The parts of the film where Bob and the band let us join in on the creative process are thrilling. There’s one amazing scene where, struggling creatively, the band attempts to workshop the development of the song “Natural Mystic.” The separate parts are being worked on, and the band members are maybe squabbling a bit. Bob, as the “skipper” of the band, organizes the crew, using the lyrics of the song to illustrate his points. They quickly coalesce under his leadership.

Moments later onscreen, the completed song serves as background music for the next scene. The song goes on to become the first track on Marley’s most pivotal album, the aforementioned “Exodus,” which expanded his stardom from Jamaica to the rest of the world, in particular Europe.

Kingsley Ben-Adir, who had a brief appearance as a Ken in “Barbie” and has had a handful of other projects, is excellent in “One Love.” He brought more dramatic talent than necessary to a recent, hollow Marvel project, “Secret Invasion,” so it’s nice to see his abilities being used for a more just cause.

It’s hard to imagine the weight that was placed on Ben-Adir’s shoulders. Fortunately, he seemed quite authentic, shepherding Marley’s good vibe persona on screen, but leavening it with the gravitas from some of the less happy moments of his life (see: racism, poverty, assassination, etc.).

Adding even more pressure, Ben-Adir actually performed some of the songs. It is unclear what he actually sings in the movie and which were mixed or dubbed in, but I assume the quiet acoustic pieces were the ones he tackled. If so, he does Marley’s legacy proud.

Bob’s wife Rita is played also ably by Lashana Lynch, who recently played a female 007 adjunct in “No Time to Die,” and has been in and out of the Marvel Disney payroll system. I wish they did more with her character. We only see glimmers of depth that go beyond the usual “wife of famous person” role in moves like this. Historically, Rita Marley had quite a substantial life and career.

Whatever you think of the acting (it was great), or the story (it was a perfect amount of enough), if you are a lover of Marley’s music, you will enjoy this movie. Obviously, theaters are the ideal environment for audio, employing a battery of amps and speakers to heighten the experience. So I would recommend not waiting for streaming.

Many of the songs on the soundtrack appeared on “Legend,” the greatest hits album that served as a reggae gateway drug in 1984 for most American fans of Bob Marley. But we are treated to a few other more obscure songs. One particular standout, “Turn Your Lights Down Low,” which Ben-Adir likely himself performed serenading Lynch, is immensely good.

If there was one area of improvement — and it’s a small one — it was quite challenging to understand some of the Jamaican language, Patois, a fascinating blend of various languages on the colonization trail (English, African, Spanish, Portuguese, Creole and more). About halfway through the movie, my brain adjusted and it actually became a fun exercise trying to interpret what the actors were saying. But prior to that, subtitles may have been useful.

Now before you cancel me for cultural insensitivity, allow me to say I felt the same way about “Oppenheimer” and its dense verbosity.