Review of Get On Up (2014) by Kyle H — 03 Sep 2014

"If it feel good and it sound good then its musical!" is the philosophy that drives Tate Taylor's interpretation of the iconic James Brown. The "godfather of soul" is painted as traumatized man whose hubris may keep him from growing emotionally, but who's natural ability to create art and connect with the masses abstractly kept him growing as a celebrity until his death.

In the broken mind of this iteration of Brown, there was an intrinsic ("feel good") and extrinsic ("sound good") element to art ("musical"); and he was able to find this balance in his music, even though his personal life was far outside of homeostasis.

Taylor's GET ON UP is a bumpy ride through the shattered memories of Brown as he seeks happiness and fame before finally realizing that the only way to peace and satisfaction is through friendship and love.

The movie does not always paint James Brown in a particularly positive light - he was an immensely flawed man. Although, the audience is allowed insights into the experiences that most impacted and shaped Brown's behaviors - at least in the opinions of the writers and film-maker - and offers his persona redemption in the end.

His journey in the film is messy, the movie certainly isn't a comprehensive or exhaustive view of his life, and the famous singer is often not who we want a celebrity to be. It exactly these flaws that often make the movie's excerpts from Brown's life so valuable, though: the audience can see the effects of selfishness and the emptiness of fame.

Even having only a few moments from each era of the icon's life to give us insights, the through-line message about the value of relationships is clear and guides the audience through the scattered narrative.

In this case "scattered" is written as a compliment: GET ON UP avoids the trap of following formulaic biopic genre plot structure by presenting its material episodically (all of which works to give the audience a taste of Brown's thought process).

The screenplay stays pragmatically focused on things pertinent to the protagonist's super-objective without including "fluff" for pseudo-intrigue or aesthetic purposes. There are a number of sexual references (in word and implied deed) that I did not much appreciate, which would be my only major complaint about the writing.

Taylor's direction is slick and smooth - almost too much to be able to capture the fragility of James Brown's mind. The visual transitions may be a little too perfect for the story, but Taylor does a great job of piecing everything else together: his work with the editor and director of photography created a well-paced and interesting-looking movie.

Much of the entertainment in the picture also comes from the superb ensemble, lead by the ever-impressive Chadwick Boseman. Boseman's commitment to both dramatic physical and vocal characterization is almost unprecedented; and he further had enough real moments with heart (often conveyed through non-verbal acting) to avoid creating a caricature of his subject.

GET ON UP does not effectively show exactly where James Brown's place is in American culture or specifically how he influenced it, but it does a great job of giving its audience a glimpse of one of the man's most profound struggles (namely: concretely relating to other people in a positive way) and gives some socio-cultural commentary along the way.

Taylor's biopic will undoubtedly also be the grooviest movie of 2014.