For those who have not yet heard the name Chadwick Boseman and are unaware of the promise that is held by this rising star, Get On Up is the perfect introduction to the skills that he wields. The film is a biopic about the life and career of James Brown, with Boseman playing the hardest working man in show business. Last year he took on the mantle of Jackie Robinson in 42, and people may be starting to look to him for more biopics due to the depth of performance he has been able to dish out.
In Get On Up I found myself situated in a two hour and eighteen minute paradox (in perfect honesty, the movie never felt that long). The contradicting forces within this film came around the pathos, with it being both distancing the audience at arm’s length while also ultimately relying on an emotional connection for us to have with James Brown and his circumstances.
Existing within the performance from Boseman we see a tremendous nuance on display that conveys the emotions of James Brown in scenes of revelation towards inner turmoil. That is great and intriguing, but the progression of the movie, and the script itself, keeps the film impersonal to show how Brown kept many issues to himself and closed himself off from those closest to him. However, to properly accomplish this there needs to be elements in the film that lets the audience inside to gain perspective on what lays below his exterior. This never happens, and the disconnect with James Brown is a barrier that becomes difficult for us to break. Without context or consequence to the eroding life circumstances of the lead character, the conclusion of the film, one which is designed to show a personal nature, is unable to properly achieve its goals.
There is one relationship in the film that does feel real and authentic, showing a sincere side to James Brown. This is between him and his manager, Ben Bart (Dan Aykroyd), who are able to see past the difference in skin colour as well as their business partnership. Both actors play well with each other, and it becomes both a touching and encouraging angle of the film. The sad part is that this was not to be the crux relationship of the film, and instead was secondary to everything else.
Playing along with the Oscar worthy (yes, I do believe that his performance was that good) role of Boseman was a wonderful soundtrack that encapsulated so much of the tone and drive of the film. This is more than a necessary aspect, because to have messed up here would have been a crippling shot to the foot. The audio is captured to give a live performance vibe that tantalizes the ears and forces foot to tap. The visuals of the performances, however, were not quite able to keep pace as it never was able to plant the audience within the screaming crowd. Successful spectacle films are a vehicle to fully transport the audience into another world, to integrate us within the moment and forget that we are sitting in a theatre.
This is a story with a nonlinear narrative, jumping around through different times of the life of James Brown, sometimes chaotic and others feeling organic and well arrived. It could be an illustration of the drug induced state that James Brown found himself in in the late eighties. It could also be an attempt to keep the intentional emotional distancing between the audience and the film. Regardless of director Tate Taylor’s reasoning for it, the format never becomes as much an issue as the lack of understanding and connection to the Godfather of Soul, which keeps this film from truly being great.
Rating - 2.5 out of 4 stars
