Review of Straight Outta Compton (2015) by Deckard2 — 31 Jan 2022

A film about hip hop for people who no nothing about hip hop.

Straight out of the gate we are launched into the turbulent lives of the young men that would eventually become the mega stars that have become synonymous with the hip hop musical genre. The film focuses on the men that would eventually form the NWA and their rise to stardom and provides a commentary on the state of racism in America in the late 80's to early 90's and what the foundation of their musical movement was made from. The film takes us from the inception of the NWA and charts the history up until the creation of Dr Dres Aftermath record label in 1996.

I will preface this with I have a very limited understanding of rap and hip hop. I enjoy it, I have listened to a multitude of albums but would not consider myself an aficionado. Regardless of your interest in the music director F. Gary Gray handles the material with skill. You are invested in the plights of these young men, who are at times fairly unlikeable and I found myself wrapped up in the narrative of the sheer craziness that happened behind the scenes when this music first came onto the scene. F. Gary Gray gets an awful lot out of his cast particularly with O'Shea Jackson Jr. who turns in an excellent performance as his father Ice Cube.

As a piece of work studying a moment in history it is eye opening and I believe captures the mood of the moment exceptionally well. However it must be said it must be taken with a slight pinch of salt regarding its overall accuracy. I don't know the history well enough but after some brief reading, one of the main points of controversy is the handling of the groups manager Jerry Heller, played here by Paul Giamatti who is clearly having a very good time and how the the events between him and the group are depicted (I believe a lawsuit was ongoing at the time of Hellers death in 2016).

Accuracy concerns aside there is much to enjoy here even if you have no interest in the music. The narrative is well handled and the performances from all involved get you wrapped up in the drama. I do believe it was Aaron Sorkin that said 'don't let the truth get in the way of a good story'.