Biopics, like history, are skewed narratives by nature. There are all sorts of agendas involved in representing the legacy of a group of artists, for instance. F. Gary Gray’s slick and polished tale of five boys from urban California who changed the rap game forever is prone to this, of course, but Straight Outta Compton is an explosive and surprisingly emotional journey.
Compton, 1986. Eric (Jason Mitchell) and Lorenzo (Aldis Hodge) are slinging dope; Andre (Corey Hawkins) and Antoine (Neil Brown, Jr.) are jockeying discs; and O’Shea (O’Shea Jackson, Jr.) is writing rhymes about the harsh realities of inner city life. United by their passion and enraged by the drug wars taking over their streets, these five young men form N.W.A to make their music into a weapon and unleash it on the unsuspecting world.
Produced by Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Tomica Woods-Wright (wife of the late Eric ‘Eazy-E’ Wright), this was always going to be a hero’s tale. Long-time fans of N.W.A and the genre they helped create will be thrilled at the outstandingly recreated live sets (particularly the one crashed by the FBI), anarchic party scenes, and gradual reveal of the hip hop stars who the group inspired, including Snoop Dogg (Lakeith Lee Stanfield) and Tupac Shakur (Marcc Rose).
There’s a rather on-the-nose epilogue in which the real Cube and Dre personally showcase everything they’ve achieved since the group’s demise; much as they should be proud of their empires, it reads as pure narcissism. Otherwise, omissions and alterations are rife, but they’re made in the name of narrative clarity and to rein in the film’s already expansive 150-minute runtime. It’s a smooth trip loaded with exciting sequences, like Cube’s destruction of his own manager’s office.
Gray’s greatest contribution, alongside his swooping and intimate framing, is the resounding humanity of his performers. Mitchell as Eazy-E is a revelation, the most complex and divisive figure in the film, and shares a natural affinity with Paul Giamatti’s increasingly villainous producer, Jerry Heller. Jackson, the real-life son of Cube, channels his father with uncanny accuracy, and Hawkin’s Dre is almost as emotionally present as Mitchell. There are even tear-jerker moments that hit with real impact; unanticipated for a film about gangsta rap.
One thing that deserves mentioning – its attitudes towards women are routinely horrendous. Perhaps that’s to be expected.
If you’re a hip hop fan, this is an unmissable film – but you already knew that. For the layman, it’s well worth investing your time in this carefully buffed, certainly partial but hugely entertaining epic.
4 stars
Straight Outta Compton opens in cinemas on Thursday September 3.
