Straight Outta Compton

Dir: F. Gary Gray

2015

****

I'll be honest, I was expecting something of a sugar-coated history lesson from 2015's Straight Outta Compton and the fact that F. Gary Gray was at the helm didn't fill me with much hope that it would be anything special, sure he directed Friday, Set it Off and some of NWA's videos but he also directed The Italian Job remake. However, I am happy to report that I was wrong to think such nonsense. Straight Outta Compton may not be 100% accurate but for someone who liked NWA when they first came out (even though I remember every adult at the time telling me why I really didn't) I was startled to see how generous and gracious is was with the truth and with regard to Easy E. It seems that Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and company have matured in their middle age and wanted to tell it how it really was. NWA were hugely influential, sometimes it take a couple of decades to see just how much of an impact a movement, idea and even a song can really have. NWA formed a unity in a huge cross-section of society, they are aware of this but are also quite modest about it. I knew a lot about NWA's history before watching but my wife knew nothing, I was satisfied with how things were portrayed and my wife, who isn't really interested in the music, was transfixed throughout and then began to understand exactly why I like and have so much respect for the group and the message they gave. Everything a biopic should strive to achieve. The performances are phenomenal and are among the years most overlooked. I imagine portraying your own father in a film must be both easy and challenging at the same time but O'Shea Jackson Jr doesn't just rely on his physical likeness, he really does convince the audience he is Ice Cube. Corey Hawkins is absolutely brilliant as Dr. Dre, Paul Giamatti is unsurprisingly impressive as NWA's initial manager Jerry Heller and I thought R. Marcos Taylor was eerily convincing as Deathrow boss Suge Knight. There are a couple of nice little appearances from Keith Stanfield as Snoop Dogg and Rogelio Douglas Jr as Chuck D too, and although Darris Love voiced the late artist, Marcc Rose looked the spitting image of Tupac Shakur. However, it is fair to say that Jason Mitchell stole the show with his performance as the one and only Easy-E. It is heart-warming that Dre, Cube and the gang gave the young actor the opportunity and the late icon so much love and respect. It's a sad and troubled story with a devastating ending, and yet somehow it feels like one of the best feel good films of the year. I now wish every band I love could have a film made about them to this high standard, although I do love a good documentary and would love to see a documentary companion piece (with interviews) to this movie.