Bob Marley: One Love

Bob Marley One Love Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton, Tosin Cole, Aston Barett Jr, Anthony Welsh, Sevana

Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green

What’s Good: The performances

What’s Bad: An underwhelming portrayal of the legendary singer

Loo Break: You can take one considering the story doesn’t provide anything impactful

Watch or Not?: If you are a fan of Marley and want to watch good performances. Otherwise, it’s lukewarm

Language: English

Available On: Theatrical release

Runtime: 104 minutes

User Rating:

Bob Marley: One Love is a biographical drama about the Jamaican singer’s rise to fame amidst the political tensions of 1976. Due to the growing political tension in the country, Bob decides to host a peaceful and free “Smile Jamaica” concert for the masses. Before the concert, there’s an assassination attempt on Bob, his wife Rita Marley, and manager Don. Bob still goes ahead with the concert, but the incident shakes him up.

While Bob goes to the UK to focus on his music career, his wife and kids are sent to Delaware to live with his mom. Throughout, we see how Bob uses music as a revolutionary weapon.

Bob Marley: One Love Movie Review: Script Analysis

From the get-go, the movie has an intense tonality to it. There’s distress on screen due to the political disturbances going on in the country. Amidst this, Bob Marley believes his purpose is to give people a chance, to send out a message that will make people realise the importance of “unity”. Instead of letting this notion come out naturally in the film, we are constantly reminded of that. It just never seems impactful.

The screenplay lacks the life and passion that we know are needed in powerful stories. You keep waiting for that one crucial moment that will uplift the entire narrative. However, the storytelling is so dull that you wonder if the involvement of four people — Reinaldo, Terence Winter, Frank E. Flowers, and Zach Baylin ruined it. As they say, too many cooks spoil the broth.

For a movie cited as a biographical drama, you know very little of Bob Marley the person. We aren’t told much about his childhood. His teenage years come and go in flashback, but mostly to show his belief in Rastafarianism. The love story between Rita and Bob is given some prominence in the movie. But we don’t understand their relationship dynamics until there’s an intense fight between Bob and Rita in Paris. When the title has “One Love” in it, we don’t get to see why exactly it is important. The movie ends just when you think it will now provide us with the solid moment, we all have been waiting for since the beginning.

Bob Marley: One Love Movie Review: Star Performance

Even though the story is not up to par, the performances are. Kingsley Ben-Adir gets the mannerisms of Bob Marley right. Kingsley’s conviction is visible throughout the way he speaks, the way he walks or touches his hair, or the way his body shakes when he’s lost on stage performing for the audience. However, my favourite in the film is Lashana Lynch as Rita Marley. Initially, Rita comes across just as spousal support towards Bob. However, in a particular scene set in Paris, she overpowers Kingsley with her phenomenal act. She brings to the screen the complex and suppressed emotions Rita has been feeling as she makes unappreciated sacrifices for Bob and his kids. Lashana is truly the star of the film.