Bob Marley One Love Review: Engaging but underwhelming

Some people are born artists. No matter what profession they choose, there’s an inherent artsy charm about them. And that charm is not merely because of their physical being but because of the way they think. It is an artist’s perspective towards life that sets them apart. And I think it was Bob Marley’s perspective that made him an icon. It reflects in his music, of course. The epitome of that perspective was the Smile Jamaica concert that he organized for peace between two rival political parties in a violence-struck Jamaica of the 1970s.

The Smile Jamaica concert serves as the backdrop for this biopic on the reggae music icon directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. Green ditches the conventional rags to riches and rise and fall structure of biopics. Instead, he regularly, and swiftly, goes back in time to show important moments in Bob’s life. The film shows Bob’s time in Jamaica, the Smile Jamaica concert, his exile in London, and his coming back to Jamaica. I quite liked the way Green visually shows Bob Marley & The Wailers’ European tour. It’s quite stunning.

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The aesthetics of the film create an immersive experience. From production design, costume and makeup design, sound design, and cinematography, each department brings its A-game. The dialogue is also crisp. If you love the Caribbean accent like me, you’ll enjoy it even more. However, the film doesn’t give you a rush. The narrative’s graph is a straight line, not a sin wave.

The jamming sessions and sequences of how Bob’s famous album Exodus came to life are a treat to watch. Kingsley Ben-Adir quite remarkably pulls off Bob Marley. When you see the real-time footage of Bob in the end credits, you know how close Kingsley comes to portraying the reggae icon.

While the film is mounted on Kingsley’s shoulders, it is Lashana Lynch as Bob’s wife Rita Marley gives the film’s best performance. Lashana and Kingsley share an endearing chemistry. The scene where they get into a verbal fight where Rita pours her heart out is probably the film’s best scene. Rita washing Bob’s dreadlocks in a washbasin, when she comes to know about his diagnosis of skin cancer, is one of the special moments in the film.

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Green keeps the treatment of the film quite realistic. You’re watching a feature film but it also feels like a documentary. He manages to hit the sweet spot in between the two formats. If you don’t know much about Bob and his life, Bob Marley: One Love serves as a good starting point to get to know an icon. Someone who cast his spell not only with his music but also with the way lived his life.

Bob Marley died at the age of 36. But he lived a life worth remembering and inspiring. If you are willing to delve beyond his Ganja and the many kids that he had with numerous women, there’s something greatly thought-provoking about his music and something so pure about his soul. But his biopic only gives a glimpse of it. Bob Marley: One Love is engaging but underwhelming.