Film Review – Bob Marley: One Love (2024)

It was inevitable that a mainstream film about Marley’s life would be told and it’s interesting to know it has taken forty-three years since his death for a cinematic release to occur. There is no doubt that he is a legend: people saw him as the messiah of Jamaica through his influence on reggae music and he had one life objective, which was to restore world peace and unite opposing governments to put their differences aside. His mission was accomplished; more or less. He brought peace and unity to opposing Jamaican political parties, but he couldn’t even find peace within himself. That is what Bob Marley: One Love conveys to us.

The casting of Kingsley Ben-Adir is a perfect choice: nailing Marley’s mannerisms and Jamaican accent perfectly, he carries the film beautifully with a strong presence that captures a man practically worshipped like a God. To capture his flaws is what people want to see, and although the audience will see an attempted assassination and his betrayal of his manager pocketing his earnings, something is lacking here.

That being said, it’s the performances here that stand out: Lashana Lynch plays Rita Marley (Bob’s wife) with ease, capturing the loving, dutiful, and resilient woman who was also one of his backing singers. To see Rita eventually lash out against Marley due to his well-known affair with Miss World winner 1976 Cindy Breakspeare was very well acted as it would naturally cause a breakdown in their marriage, but does the audience see the affair? Let’s just say, you see a few glimpses of Cindy Breakspeare as a fan/groupie, but there is no interaction with her or Bob that the affair is badly implied.

The fact that the up-and-coming actress Umi Myers playing Breakspeare is beautiful but barely noticeable was the letdown of the film. She could have had a larger role but director Reinaldo Marcus Green wanted to suppress Marley’s flaws of what made him human, which was perhaps more important. That being said, the audience will get a true understanding of his celebrity status as we see Marley, a man with humble beginnings, mingle with the A-list elite of the time. Despite the 1970s being a racist era, we see men treated with respect amongst the elite, after all, true talent will get special treatment.

The film at least provides the audience with that talent. To see Kingsley Ben-Adir lip sync just as good as Rami Malek did in Bohemian Rhapsody (he sings live, too) is the superior part of the film with his natural swagger and the attitude he exerts as we hear the classics will bring a shimmer to many hearts and catch much of the attention, with a stand-out performance of “Redemption Song” by a fire with his family is truly touching.

While it won’t hit the heights of the aforementioned Freddie Mercury biopic in of box office or awards, Bob Marley: One Love doesn’t necessarily need it, and is sure to please crowds on its own merits as it celebrates one of our most enduring and important artists.

★★★

In cinemas February 14th | Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton, Anthony Welsh, Tosin Cole, Sevana | Dir: Reinaldo Marcus Green | 12A | Universal Pictures UK