BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE
(12A) 107mins
★★☆☆☆
THE combination of inspirational true-life story and incredible soundtrack can be cinematic gold.
Think music biopics such as 2004’s Ray about Ray Charles, 2005 Johnny Cash chronicle Walk The Line and Angela Bassett as Tina Turner in 1993’s What’s Love Got To Do With It?
But when they hit a bum note, they really can be very out of tune.
From his formative years in Jamaica’s dangerous Trench Town to his premature death from cancer in 1981 at the age of 36, reggae superstar Bob Marley triumphed over multiple adversities to become famous the world over.
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His revolutionary songs such as Get Up, Stand Up remain acclaimed anthems to this day.
The One Love musician, abandoned by his British father when he was five, always wanted his lyrics to convey a powerful message.
And it might have been better to simply let his remarkable compositions continue to do the talking, rather than this unwieldy, overly sentimental box office version of his rise to fame.
Director Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard) begins in the turbulent Jamaica of 1976, showing crystal-clear waters alongside bloody civil war.
Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir) is the island’s home-grown hero who wants his performances to be the “revolution no guns can stop”.
Having survived an assassination attempt, two days later he still performs at a concert aimed at countering political violence.
“If you don’t play the show, they win,” the script clunks with zero nuance. Wife Rita (Lashana Lynch) is only saved from a bullet reaching her brain by her dreadlocks.
The shooting though does see him leave his beloved Caribbean for safety in the UK, where he records his pivotal Exodus album.
Alongside the tale of his upward trajectory, we are pinballed between flashbacks of Marley’s childhood, early life with Rita and discovery of Rastafarianism. All interesting stuff, but far too sanitised, resulting in some flat characterisation.
James Norton as record producer Chris Blackwell has little to do but nod along in a studio.
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Marley’s womanising and multiple children with other partners is barely mentioned.
Some scenes do deliver, and of course the sound-track is remarkable.
It’s just disappointing that the rest never really succeeds at Jamming.
THE TASTE OF THINGS
(12A) 136mins
★★★★☆
THIS delectable French-language cinematic morsel is a mouth-watering treat and guaranteed to whet your appetite.
Charting the rise of what we now refer to as the school of “classical” cooking, in 1885 Eugenie (Juliette Binoche) and renowned gastronome Dodin Bouffant (Benoit Magimel) have been a couple both in and out of their chateau kitchen for almost 20 years.
Together they seduce and are seduced by food and create landmark new dishes.
Their relationship is intrinsically bound by the rhythms of the recipes and meals they obsessively craft, and director Tran Anh Hung makes full use of his other star cast member, the ingredients.
With its lingering, sensual, even borderline sexual, shots of indulgent haute-cuisine dishes being cooked and devoured, you will almost smell and taste the produce.
So expect your stomach to rumble.
The culinary history is fascinating, the later-years romance charming and just like a memorable menu, leaves you feeling enchanted and deliciously sated.
LES MISERABLES (REMASTERED)
(12A) 170mins
★★★★★
RE-RELEASING Tom Hooper’s Oscar-winning Les Miserables for Valentine’s Week might be somewhat tenuous timing. But it’s still very much a timeless feat of cinema.
Adapted from the West End musical set in 19th-century France, the 2012 film has been remixed and remastered, and the cast sounds just as epic.
Yes, even Russell Crowe, who gives police inspector Javert a rocky edge.
For decades, Javert has been hunting ex-prisoner Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) after he breaks parole, adopts a new identity to become a factory manager and promises to care for Cosette (Isabelle Allen/Amanda Seyfried) the daughter of sick worker Fantine (Anne Hathaway).
Jackman and Hathaway are on devastating form and the entire ensemble is firing on all cylinders.
This is a decidedly gritty and grounded adaptation, with Hooper’s assured direction capturing the horror and humanity of revolutionary France.
There is death, greed, hope and love, with enough rousing numbers to tug at your heartstrings and have you singing When Tomorrow Comes on the way home.