Notorious Review
by Michael Dequina (themoviereport AT gmail DOT com)January 16th, 2009
_Notorious_ (R) *** 1/2 (out of ****)
If there's a genre especially notorious
(pardon the pun) for too often coming off as
glossy and artificial, it's ironically the
authorized biography--and so perhaps the most
striking quality of the estate-endorsed
_Notorious_ is that director George Tillman Jr.
and screenwriters Reggie Rock Bythewood and Cheo
Hodari Coker allow their (in)famous subject, the
slain rapper the Notorious B.I.G., to indeed live
up to the moniker. That atypical degree of frank
honesty, plus the electrifying efforts of a
vibrant cast of acting discoveries, refreshes the standard music biopic tropes.
And, indeed, this is a recognizable
meteoric rise, devastating fall showbiz story,
and as with many many others' that of the
eventual Biggie Smalls begins humbly: as
Christopher Wallace (Jamal Woolard), son of
single mother Voletta Wallace (Angela Bassett,
sparingly but effectively used), who earns his
keep one of the few ways a teen growing up on the
mean streets of Brooklyn can--as a drug
dealer. The hustle ends up landing him behind
bars, where his side hobby of writing rhymes
becomes his passion and ultimate ticket to
success, excess, and a place in hip-hop
history--sadly further cemented when he was
killed in a drive-by shooting as he was reaching
the height of his fame in 1997.
One of the inherent difficulties of any
biopic is condensing entire lifetimes down to a
couple of hours, but this limitation works in
_Notorious_'s favor. Aided by the brisk rhythm
of Dirk Westervelt's editing, not only does one
truly feel the too much, too quickly whirlwind of
Wallace's rise to stardom, it also places it in
its proper perspective, for the meat of his story
really did only take place over the course of a
few years--which then reinforces and reminds that
the principal players involved were all quite
young when the literally life and death drama
unfolded. That issue of youth is key to the
angle taken by Tillman, Bythewood, and Coker, for
in all of Wallace's actions, both positive and
negative, there is the sense of someone who has
yet to mature putting on various guises of
adulthood. While the film does not use such an
idea to excuse Wallace's more unsavory actions,
all of his behavior--from the criminal activity
and rather reckless womanizing to his hasty
marriage to chanteuse Faith Evans (Antonique
Smith) and all manner of shallow, fame-fed
indulgences--are presented as examples of many of
how the young Wallace asserts certain notions
about his being a grown man. That's the core of
_Notorious_: that relatable story behind the
entertainment icon, not, say, the scandalous
details of the media-fueled east coast vs. west
coast hip-hop feud that ultimately led to his
demise, which is fairly objectively handled here
as being one of those signpost moments for
Wallace as he works his way to figuring out what being a man truly entails.
While certain details of Wallace's
specific situation, such as that major portion of
hip-hop history/legend, gives the story a certain
larger than life quality, maintaining the story's
human dimension is Woolard. _Notorious_ marks
his acting debut, but he proves to be a natural,
as he completely inhabits the character, from
Biggie's famously smooth swagger to a deeper,
almost boyish vulnerability that connects even
when he is at his most self-serving. The other
lesser known cast members in principal roles
(Smith, adding layers to the somewhat
underwritten part of Wallace's frequently wronged
wife; Naturi Naughton, delivering a fierce
breakout performance as a sexually and
*emotionally* brazen Lil' Kim) so impressively
disappear into the roles that it's almost
disappointing when more recognizable actors such
as Derek Luke and Anthony Mackie turn up as,
respectively, Sean "Puffy" Combs and Tupac
Shakur. This is no knock on their performances,
as they do reliably offer solid support, but
their own recognizability in such iconic roles
momentarily breaks the air of authenticity
created by the fresher faces surrounding them.
(Actually, if there's a glaringly Hollywood-ized
note in the film, it's the rather idealized
vision of Combs, who, perhaps not surprisingly,
has executive producer credit on the film.)
But, as noted, it's only momentary, as
_Notorious_ is not only an engaging take on the
familar tale of someone of modest means realizing
a great dream--if at an incredible cost--but an
evocative recreation of a decade-past (!) time in
music whose creative, cultural, and
social influences continue to resonate in the
landscape today. The film does work a bit hard
by the end to play up the tale's inspirational
qualities (best exemplified by its use of one of
my chief cinematic pet peeves: closing on-screen
text that goes beyond mere reportage of fact to
make a labored statement), but it really did not
have to, as the film's virtues and messages, much
like man whose story it tells, speak plainly for themselves.
(c)2009 Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
[email protected]
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