*NEW* Movie Review: "Notorious"
posted 2009-01-26
"Notorious"
Directed by: George Tillman Jr.
Screenplay by: Reggie Rock Bythewood and Cheo Hodari Coker
Cast: Angela Bassett, Derek Luke, Jamal Woolard, Anthony Mackie, Antonique Smith, Naturi Naughton, Kevin Phillips, Christopher Jordan Wallace
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 122 minutes
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By Kimberly Gadette
Welcome to the life of Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G., aka Biggie Smalls. Growing up in one of the toughest New York neighborhoods of the 1970s and '80s, the Brooklyn district of Bedford-Stuyvesant, it was only a matter of time before the adolescent Biggie (played by Wallace's own son, Christopher Jordan Wallace) ignored his mother's orders to stick to his front stoop, and joined his friends in hustling crack cocaine on the street. Given the odds, it was almost unbelievable that this overweight, high school dropout broke out of the grim destiny of drugs, imprisonment and poverty to become the voice of 1990s East Coast rap. And what a voice it was – a low grumble relating funny, harsh and/or bleak snapshots of a life he knew firsthand. Add to that his knack for delivering internal rhymes in blistering succession, revealing wily smarts and 'tude for days—and it's no wonder that Biggie got heard in a big, big way.
Directed by George Tillman, Jr. ("Soul Food"), the movie opens with a voiceover from Biggie (newcomer Jamal Woolard), musing from some unseen vantage point in a vague after-life about future plans…and then questioning if such a future exists. Get used to this sense of vague—though the biopic attempts to draw Biggie in all his imperfections, it never gets closer than a fuzzy sketch. As opposed to the clarity of Tillman's music scenes—whether in the studio, the street or on stage, they convey an intense energy and focus.
It's ironic that those who orbit around Planet Biggie are much easier to perceive than the star himself. Particularly the women: Angela Bassett gives us a mother who may be clueless in Biggie's formative years, but even after his criminal activities come to light, she continues to love him fiercely. A scene in which she leads him through the 23rd Psalm via telephone, her giant boy hunched over a prison pay phone dutifully joining in, is beautifully depicted.
As the woman who Biggie marries in haste, Antonique Smith's Faith Evans is a force of nature. It's a high-watt performance, the actress ably showing devotion and fury, her heart breaking at his indiscretions. And Naturi Naughton's Lil' Kim hits it dead on, playing the hellcat turned rapper who won't be denied. A film highlight has Biggie coaching his lover/protégé, saying "I wanna make you the Marilyn Monroe of hip-hop." He then adds a finishing touch to her costume…which the viewer will have to see for her/himself.
Derek Luke ("Antwone Fisher") turns in another excellent performance as Sean Puffy Combs, the hungry young producer with a strong moral code who jump-starts Biggie's career. Per Luke on playing Combs (who's also the executive producer of "Notorious"): "What’s challenging about playing a real-life person like Puffy is that they have their instincts and you have your instincts. So you have to completely pull the plug on your instincts and allow their instincts to come through..." Luke makes it look effortless. Kudos as well to Anthony Mackie's Tupac, conveying a troubled superstar whose moods turn on a dime.
But ultimately the movie leans on the young shoulders of Jamal Woolard. Especially when dealing with a new actor who doesn't have the facility to convey subtle yet resonant character shifts, the filmmakers needed to support his performance with a much stronger script and direction. As it stands, it's puzzling to see this fairly empty character attract such a devoted core of friends and lovers.
It's one thing for the public Biggie to hide behind his sunglasses; it's quite another when the personal Biggie hides as well. Leading to the unfortunate conclusion that the film is simply…not Big enough.
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Grading on the curve of a Notorious B.I.G. CD: ... B
