N.W.A. biopic goes 'Straight' to the point
Straight Outta Compton swaggers like the gangsta rap pioneers it's based on, but it is not intentional enough with its style to fight the typical music biopic conventions. Although the movie avoids simply going through the motions with the highs and lows of fame, it lacks a deeper regard for the subjects and their individual thoughts and personalities. Every event felt like it was missing necessary context; with a two-and-a-half hour movie, it stands as a testament to the source material that the only thing needed is more elaboration. However, Straight Outta Compton does well even as a kind of "N.W.A for Dummies."
The movie starts out in predictably tense fashion by simultaneously introducing the audience to member Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) and the street origins of the group. After an expertly handled opening scene, the film quickly gets down to business. We share an intimate moment with Dre (Corey Hawkins) and his records, and witness Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson, Jr.) as a misunderstood outcast who handles the daily struggle by keeping his head down and scribbling rhymes in his notebook. They're brief but effective samples of the background that led to N.W.A. but after this point the story goes into overdrive.
To its credit, the film doesn't dumb anything down or try to over-explain anything. The slang and cultural references are there for verisimilitude rather than a heavy-handed reminder of the times. The cast aides the immersion by giving genuine performances that do justice to their inspirations. The three main leads show incredible chemistry in every dynamic imaginable, whether it's in the studio, on-stage, or years later. Although there were a few more people involved, the film does right by keeping the story focused on the most prolific members; it makes even more sense narratively as the film transitions past N.W.A.'s dissolution and covers their solo ventures.
But surely the controversial history surrounding N.W.A. would be a little more complex than some wild tour stories, a couple threats, and nefarious businessmen? There's little time spent on the national effect of gangsta rap (other than the obvious retaliation of police) and the relationship between the group's members changes without much foreshadowing. It's a shame that so much appears to have been taken out from the supposedly 150-page script because a longer cut would have allowed this story to breathe and flow naturally.
Perhaps the logical holes in the film could be chalked up to the actual lapses in reason of young, impressionable artists, but part of it comes from the audience not being given enough time to understand how each member developed over the course of their rise to fame. The rift between members isn't introduced with the slow boil of two years of label alienation, but rather a quick heel-turn by their manager Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti). Heller shifts from seemingly supportive and unobtrusive to dubious and manipulative in a matter of a few scenes; one second he's sticking up to the police for the guys and singing their graces, but the next he's scheming with Eazy behind the others' backs.
Director F. Gary Gray has a long history with N.W.A. through his work with Ice Cube on Friday and several music videos. His close relationship with the material lends the film a sense of intimacy and shows a clear understanding of the group's impact on history. However, the efforts to glorify start to become a deification of sorts. There has been quite an uproar over the group's troubled past lately, and I can't help but think these complaints are justified based on how their film counterparts lack any flaws. Their courage to stand up to systematic injustice was undeniably heroic, but portraying each character as faultless protagonists denies the complex history behind their careers.
Straight Outta Compton is more than the typical music biopic, but it had the potential to be even more. Although the film does an excellent job of giving newcomers a feel for how revolutionary N.W.A. was, it often feels like a retelling of a chaotic situation with rose-colored glasses. Whether this is caused by the many producers looking to preserve their legacies or the director's economical storytelling, it ultimately takes away much of the group's most defining personality trait: attitude.