Straight Outta Compton-2015
Director F. Gary Gray
Starring O’Shea Jackson Jr., Paul Giamatti
Scott’s Review #517
Reviewed November 12, 2016
Grade: B-
The rap group N.W.A. was a highly influential and controversial unit to emerge from Compton, California in the late 1980s and featured soon-to-be solo rap artists Ice Cube and Dr. Dre.
Another member, Eazy-E, rounds out the trio featured in this film along with their manager Jerry, played by Paul Giamatti.
Straight Outta Compton (2015) tells their story.
Ice Cube and Dr. Dre produced the film along with Eazy-E’s widow, Tomica Woods-Wright, and Ice Cube’s real-life son, O’Shea Jackson, Jr. portray Ice Cube.
The film is interesting as a way of learning about the rap group and their rise to and fall from stardom, but the film has a very slick and glossy style that detracts from the grittiness of the subject matter.
It feels very Hollywood and overly produced.
Especially, since the language is atrocious- almost overly, as if the point was being shoved down our throats.
Additionally, the acting, except for Giamatti, is not too impressive.
Lastly, the violence portrayed and the gang stuff seems a bit stereotypical for my tastes.
The film begins in 1986 and we meet a trio of friends. Determined to provide a raw, honest style of poetry to their music, they eventually meet their manager, Jerry, who takes them under his wing and leads them to their success.
Predictably, with success comes jealousy and contract disputes. The film delves into this subject matter as the partying and drug use, womanizing, and violence, all lead to the rap group’s constant struggles with the police force, especially since one of their top songs is anti-police.
Impressive is the real-life footage used of the 1991 beating of taxi driver Rodney King by the Los Angeles Police Department and the subsequent riots that occurred after the officers were found not guilty of any wrongdoing.
The racial tension in this city was interesting to revisit and palpable to the film’s subject matter.
The acting was noticeable to me and not in a good way. The young actor who plays Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins) was fine, but the others (Jackson) and Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E were average at best. In any of their dramatic scenes where they appear to be angry, it just does not work, and the scenes lack grizzle and intensity.
Conversely, any dramatic scene that held any gusto belonged to Giamatti, who was excellent in his part. He makes the others seem better, but in other ways, their inexperience is evident compared to his.
In any event, he only makes the scenes he appears in more genuine. Early in the film, when Jerry lashes out at police officers, it is a meaty scene and forceful.
The filmmakers go for a message of violence and swearing in this film, but despite this, Straight Outta Compton still seems safe and overly produced. This may have had to do with the bright, slick cameras used.
It has a studio, high-budget appearance that does not completely work. I wanted it to look grittier and dirtier and see more of the seedy side of the business instead of merely being explained to me.
Women in this film are not treated very well and the characters who are the girlfriends are written sympathetically, but not given much substance to sink their teeth into.
Contrasting, Death Row Records CEO “Suge” Knight is portrayed as a maniacal, violent man.
Straight Outta Compton is a guy’s film.
I had difficulty relating to any of the central characters except perhaps Giamatti’s and it becomes unclear if Jerry had been ripping off the members of the rap group or if that is merely their perception. He seems to care about the members so that part is undefined.
Perhaps this film might hold more appeal for fans of N.W.A., which I never was, and rap is not my preferred style of music. I can appreciate the biographical way the film explains the trio’s story, ups and downs, reunions, death, and violence, but this film could have been much better and is flawed by its over-stylized filming.
Oscar Nominations: Best Original Screenplay