Bob Marley: One Love Review

Bob Marley graces the big screen once again in this serviceable, if uninspired, biopic. 

The film opens with Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir) in Jamaica in the midst of civil strife. He’s famous in Jamaica, but less so overseas. Bob, with the aid of his wife Rita (Lashana Lynch), plans a concert to try and bring the people together, but when they are brutally attacked by insurgents, Bob flees the country and heads to London. There, with his band and under the oversight of producer Chris Blackwell (James Norton), he cooks up his most famous album, Exodus. Cue worldwide fame, success, and a lux European tour. But he still needs to face his demons, and face the country he fled. 

Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, Bob Marley: One Love is a bit of a rocky journey through beautiful shots, confusing sequences, and globe trotting antics. The movie dives right in with a bit of expository text and then Bob in the midst of setting up a big peace concert, and while we can track it through to his being shot, the journey from being shot to leaving Jamaica is, frankly, super confusing. 

Once the group hits London, the film starts to find its rhythm a bit more, settling into a relatively standard musician biopic trope. It all leads to a lovely sequence as their crowds get bigger and they play venue after venue, before tragedy strikes and Bob decides to return to Jamaica. This leads into an ending that has moments that are lovely (Bob playing a song to his kids around the fire stands out), and ends with a bit of a whimper.

Ben-Adir is great as Marley, and captures his on stage frenetic swaying energy, his ineffable personality, and his voice. Lashana Lynch is an absolute standout though, and brings the emotionality to the piece. The rest of Marley’s band is quite effective to bring some levity and humor as well. 

In the end, One Love can’t break the mould enough to make it ‘must see cinema’. But it’s a mercifully short 1 hour 44 minutes that shines a light on quite an interesting musical figure for a new generation. It’s very pretty, quite engaging, and while it can be a bit muddled and confused, ultimately it is an entertaining story.

Bob Marley: One Love is as chill about biopic filmmaking as the man himself was. This is a by the books movie that still manages to lose itself in moments of confusion, but ultimately has enough to say (and the performances and cinematography to say it) to justify its existence.