Straight Outta Compton is one of the more effective music biopics to come out of a major Hollywood studio in quite some time. The impact of N.W.A. and their influence on not only the music world, but our culture as a whole is immense. Somehow, director F. Gary Gray manages to capture the group’s massive mark in just under two-and-a-half hours of hip hop cinematic brilliance.
Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, DJ Yella and Mc Ren came Straight Outta Compton in the mid-to-late 80s and reflected what life on the streets of inner city America was like at that time. N.W.A. wasn’t the first hip hop act to make waves, but they were the first to truly put a spotlight on the urban American community and show what life on the streets truly looked like for African Americans.
What’s so compelling and troubling about Straight Outta Compton is that the film could not be more resonant today with the headline permeation of police shooting African Americans dead on the streets of their hoods. We may have a black man in the White House, but for people in the inner cities, and elsewhere, much hasn’t changed since Ice Cube, Eazy-E, MC Ren, DJ Yella and Dr. Dre released their landmark record (Straight Outta Compton) in the summer of 1988.
Straight Outta Compton begins with a spotlight on Eazy-E, a drug dealing hustler who manages to escape the law and flirts with that scenario practically every day. Ice Cube is a teenager getting bused from the streets of South Central to the Valley, who spends his time weaving through L.A. traffic writing urban poetry. Dr. Dre is making a living (barely) as a DJ and after getting kicked out of his mom’s house, moves in with Cube when an idea hits Dre and history begins to be made.
They convince Eazy-E to put up some of that drug money to found a label, Ruthless Records, and form a group. They record and release a single, Boyz ‘n the Hood, and urban radio and budding hip hop fans the world over can’t get enough of it. It is then, as shown in the film, that they meet Jerry Heller (played by the always awesome Paul Giamatti). He’s a music manager who promises them the world and they buy into it. Heller’s intentions and business practices play out over the second act of the film, and the audience gets to be the judge of his morality.
Straight Outta Compton director Gray is clearly a fan of the band, the era and the individual members of the group (Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E’s widow are all producers on the film). But he does not let his passion for the people get in the way of telling a riveting story that is full of societal, political and musical context that puts what N.W.A. did and achieved into a firm place in historical legacy. The other thing that Gray achieved is fantastic casting. Many a director has said that 90-percent of being a great helmer is casting and getting out of the way of the talent. In the case of Straight Outta Compton, that could not be truer.
O’Shea Jackson is not only a spitting image of his father, Ice Cube, but acts with a passion and swagger that is uniquely his own that makes his portrayal feel real, riveting and respectful – without being a mimic or imitation. Corey Hawkins’ Dr. Dre is a stunning performance where we see depths to The Chronic’s creator and Aftermath Records founder that even diehard fans might not have known about.
Then, there’s Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E. E was a complicated fellow and what Mitchell does with him is a terrific and touching tribute to the late artist. When he ultimately meets his fate, even the most hardened will shed a tear (or two). For all his brashness and bravado, there was a soul who just wanted to be appreciated… and who cannot identify with that? Thanks to Mitchell, we all can now with Straight Outta Compton.
Straight Outta Compton is not a perfect music biopic. It’s easy to see that it is a history lesson told by the victors. Things are glossed over or completely omitted that some music aficionados might wonder where they went! And the third act tries to cram a lot of history (post N.W.A.) into its frame that might feel overstuffed. But, for us, it all adds up to a rich tapestry weaved together by a team led by Gray, Cube and Dre, that has effectively and efficiently placed N.W.A.’s legacy in the history books.
Grade: B+