Review - Bob Marley: One Love

Ziggy Marley produced, hopefully posthumously approved.

There were two things I wanted to know when recently watching Bob Marley: One Love. One of those things was, what was the life of the Jamaican Champion Rockstar Bob Marley truly like? The other was why exactly do white people love Bob Marley so much? I felt like this movie managed to answer one of those questions pretty well. 

"Champion Lover No Ease Up"

I came from the era where reggae music inspired dominant above and underground sounds we heard. Back in my day (heh) we were able to appreciate Shabba Ranks, Patra, Shaggy, and of course Canadian legend Snow. There was something about the ease of the beat and flexing of masculinity from words we could barely understand in the style that we were entertained us back then. I remember my sister and cousin discussing how much they liked Patra's amazing braided hairstyle. I remember singing That Girl along with Maxi Priest and Shaggy. Of course we all "a licky boom boom down" to Informer back then. All of that music was inspired by Reggae. 

Jamaican people hit the road during violent periods in their history. They made their way to rebuild London after World War II to get British citizenship. Jamaicans eventually made their way to the United States and Canada too, and they always brought their music with them. Jamaican immigrants were the cornerstone in the creation of Hip-Hop as DJ Kool Herc pumped up the jam at his sister's party back in the 70s. So naturally, that music was on the scene in a big way in the 80s and 90s as Jamaican immigrants were making their mark around the world. 

“...But He Did Not Shoot The Deputy”

I grew up in Texas hearing a little bit about the violence taking place in Jamaica. You learn this as you see Bob Marley get shot at in the first third of the film. While trying to play a show for Jamaican peace and love, somebody sent pistoleros to his door. 

Bob Marley is played by Kingsley Ben-Adir who I think, as a lowly American, did a great job of embodying Bob Marley. After the love of his life, Rita (played by Lashana Lynch) is saved by her braided hair while his manager takes 6 bullets for him, it still took Bob getting shot at his show before he decides he needs a break. Bob sends his kids and wife to the US and he and the Wailers make their way to London to record a new album. 

They hire a new guitar rocking guitar player, jam out to some classical music from biblical films, and finish the record before starting their European tour. I don't want to break down the charming parts of the movie that's only been out for a week, but those of us who have studied Bob Marley know what will happen, and those who haven't studied him might want to. I think One Love does a very good job of showcasing him by picking these years of his life and career to speak on.

Bob Marley: One Love isn't always the fastest movie, but the music is obviously excellent. They find interesting ways to move through all the biggest songs by Bob Marley and the Wailers. Lashana Lynch plays Rita who does a lot to make this movie engaging. It was great watching her go from slapping goons around as a 007 a few years ago to bringing so much emotion as Bob's champion lover and as a singer in the band. I also really appreciate that Bob Marley's son Ziggy made it to the producer’s chair for this film. 

Get Up, Stand Up, Don't Give Up The Fight

Ziggy Marley said something during the interviews for that film that I thought was very interesting. He said that they don’t have a chance to be in control of their own narratives. Films about Jamaican characters often make the Jamaican dialect work for the "white gaze." Bob Marley: One Love doesn't care if you can't pick up what all of these Jamaican people are saying until it has a point to make. I assume the dialect is correct. The characters speak in the way they "should" in these situations, to the point I’d like to go and see it again to catch a lot of the conversations I didn't get the first time. I look forward to keeping that in mind as I watch more movies made in Africa, India, and other places that are not Hollywood or Hollywood adjacent. 

If you have any love for him, go check out Bob Marley: One Love. It came out on Valentine's Day which was slick because the movie is really about love. Love between people, love between countries, and love between different sides of ourselves. So in a way, I was able to learn a lot about Jamaican Champion Rockstar Bob Marley and sort of live my way through his music for a while. However, I'm not entirely sure what white people saw in him. Maybe they loved that he was extremely Jamaican from start to finish. 

He died at 36 of cancer, something I didn't entirely know as I thought he was part of the 27 club and wasn’t far enough in the book I’m reading about him to know about the cancer. What I did know was that it was said Bob Marley could tell the future and may have predicted his life. As a cancer survivor, I often wonder if he managed to see his death before it happened. If I could do that, maybe I would have been out having kids and playing a lot more reggae music than I did. More than ever, I get the opportunity to reach back and find the love in everyone from the past and generate some hope for the future.

I’m sorry… I can’t help it. Anyway stick around as I keep reviewing more and more Black things that are available to us this month… and Madame Web.