Dr Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and the other members of the legendary rap group are given the biopic treatment in F Gary Gray’s latest film, ‘Straight Outta Compton’. In the middle of the 1980’s, the streets of Compton, California, were some of the most dangerous in the country. When five young men translated their experiences growing up into brutally honest music that rebelled against abusive authority, they gave an explosive voice to a silenced generation. Following the overnight rise and fall of N.W.A., the movie tells the astonishing story of how these youngsters revolutionized music and pop culture forever, the moment they told the world the truth about life in the hood and ignited a cultural war. It’s not easy to craft a powerful musical biopic, so what did i love so much about Gray’s powerful piece? Every single thing presented to the audience. It would be easy for a film like this to fall into a VH1 biopic of the week, in the same light that the TLC story did, but ‘Straight Outta Compton’ packs part action packed shoot em up, with part dramatic tearjerker, that finds a comfy medium supported by outstanding Oscar worthy performances. The casting director for this movie deserves every bit of credit as much as the director and crew does. There were many points in the film where i actually forgot that i was watching a performance from actors and not footage from the actual group themselves. O’Shea Jackson JR tore the house down while playing his father. His solid line deliveries would feel carbon if given by someone else, but he garnered the perfect amount of mellow cool that was slowly burning into a volcano of anger. Corey Hawkins showcased Dr Dre in a light that i haven’t quite viewed him in until now. He captures the musician, but more importantly the businessman and brains of the most monetarily successful rapper of all time. I would be doing a great disservice to the performances however, if i didn’t mention Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E. Mitchell sends the audience on a rollercoaster of emotions for how we feel about his character. To viewers who don’t quite know the story, his third act reveal will steal the comfort from under your seat. The camera style and production costs were also both used to top level efficiency. This is a movie that is gritty, raw, and in your face. More importantly, it’s not afraid to show you the real side of a city known for it’s bad cultures. Many of the fast paced scenes involve a minor shaky cam that was done so well it never felt like it was leaving the framing work of the events going down on screen. I also noticed some minor symbolism in the backgrounds for most of the scenes early on shot in Compton. There is kind of a grainy fog that fills the air for many of these scenes with brainstorming for the next big lyric. Most people will view it as cigarette or marijuana smoke, but i viewed it as a way for the group to not only work out the displeasures of writer’s block, but also as a metaphor for the toxic environment that surrounds them, fueling their rage. This is a movie that isn’t just about N.W.A, it’s also about the turmoil of the racial tensions that were reaching an all time high in South Los Angeles towards the end of the twentieth century. The movie focuses on many different events, including the Rodney King beatings and the riots that followed. A film like this and the events it entails, couldn’t come out at a better time. It’s crazy to think that over twenty five years later after the tellings of these tales, we still don’t seem to be advancing any closer for equality in the face of equal rights for cops on black crime. Overall, i thought the movie was intense, shocking, and uncut in the story it told. It’s a little long at two hours and twenty two minutes, but it never runs out of intrigue to tell. The real tragedy isn’t what horrors the members of the group had to go through, but the fame and fortune they were robbed because of such events. ‘Straight Outta Compton’ is one of the very best films that i have seen in 2015, and it deserves a look from the audience whether you are a fan or not. Coming from living my whole life in bad neighborhoods, many events in the film struck a chord with me and the culture that is hard to understand from someone who has never lived there. Most of us come from our own kind of Compton, but the movie shows us how important it is that we break out of those metaphorical chains and strive for more. Spend your money effortlessly for this one.

9/10