For the months leading up to Bob Marley: One Love being released, every time I watched the trailer, I was brought to tears. This led me to have extremely high expectations. To no surprise, the movie far exceeded them! It delivered a beautiful, heartwarming, and nostalgic experience. All of my tears shed were in awe of the fascinating life of the legend Bob Marley.
I was hit with a wave of nostalgia the second the movie started. I was brought back to the summers spent listening to my camp counselors singing his music, my dad playing it on repeat, dancing to it with my best friend, and the times when the only CDs in my car were his. My best friend had the same reaction when she saw it, saying it reminded her of both of our dads and when we were little.
Growing up with parents who worked in and were surrounded by the cannabis industry, all the scenes where Marley and his friends were smoking together touched my heart. It led me to memories of my parents and their friends frequently doing the same and in similar settings, surrounded by good people and good music. I grew up in a town where it was just as normalized as it was in the movie to be constantly around Ganja. Marley and his son’s music was a constant in the soundtrack of my childhood.
Since the movie is a biopic, there aren’t any crazy plot twists that led me to question what would happen next, many of the audience members, myself included, are already familiar with his story and life. However, the movie did such a fantastic job of telling his story, it was like hearing it for the first time. I was shown bits and pieces that I never knew, such as Marley finding out he had cancer due to his injured toe that wouldn’t heal.
The cinematography was beyond beautiful, as was the audio. I was fortunate to see it in Dolby Cinema, which allows for better audio and visuals, yet am positive it would be remarkable and stunning no matter where you watch it. Seeing Marley’s process and story behind each song was truly indescribable, but I’ll try. It was like gaining a snippet into his life, his passion, and his mind. Marley had the ultimate vision that music can connect us all and that music is the message. I found myself constantly mouthing the lyrics to his songs for the entirety of the movie.
Everyone’s clothing was vibrant and added its own element to the film, although I may be biased since I love 70s fashion. Nonetheless, the style and pieces were truly incredible; even the little kids and background characters had a lasting impact in regards to their clothing. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the evolution of Marley’s and the other cast members’ attire.
In regard to his music, when discussing the cover art of their new album, Exodus, Marley made sure that it wasn’t flashy and overly busy. Although this was thought to be wrong by the production company, he held firm, ensuring that his message was the main focus. He wanted his music to unite people and bring peace to everyone, hence why he was performing the free concert: to bring unity to Jamaica in a time of extreme violence. This almost cost him his own life, as well as that of his wife and friends, but to this day, it’s still one the most important and impactful parts of his story. He was even approached by the leaders of both political parties causing such violence and was asked to once again risk his life and perform this life-changing music in the hopes of uniting a country.
The whole cast was phenomenal. I’m not usually one who gets hung up on cast members and does deep dives afterward, but after watching this movie, I did. I was familiar with both Kingsley Ben-Adir (Bob Marley) and Lashana Lynch (Rita Marley), but this was by far my favorite thing I’ve seen either of them in. They both played their roles so authentically and with such passion. Their performances were a highlight and I could not imagine anyone else fulfilling them as well as they did. They were able to bring this remarkable and important story to the big screen in a way that didn’t stray from facts, as we often see with other biopics and movies based on true stories.
I appreciated the nods towards the parts of his life that weren’t the focus of the movie. One of the most impactful and memorable scenes for me was when he was sitting around the fire, playing his guitar and singing “Redemption Song.” I can’t stop thinking about it and how profound it was. It’s hard to tell the life story of a legend in just under two hours, but they showed so much and with such vigor. I believe that this is largely due to the fact that his family, Ziggy Marley, Rita Marley, and Cedella Marley, were a part of the production and on set nearly every day. They were able to ensure the story was accurate and truthful to Marley’s life, depicting what they deemed was honest and the best representation of him. The overall tone of the movie was the perfect palette for balancing the tumultuous times within Jamaica and the world, and the all-consuming love and desire for unity and peace for all. Marley brought with him these beliefs stemming from his deep connections to his Rastafarian values and practices.
I have seen my fair share of newly released movies and can confidently say this was one of, if not the best that I have seen in a while. Over the course of the hour and 45-minute run time, I could be found with either a smile on my face or tears in my eyes. The entire audience was all having similar reactions, as we were all sharing audible cheers, laughter, and groans in unison depending on the scene. Towards the ending credits and final song, you could hear the audience start singing along to his iconic song, “One Love.” The theater was filled with such good vibes after the movie ended, you could just tell that the movie was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone in attendance. I can’t recommend this movie enough! However, be prepared to leave the theater with all of his songs stuck in your head.