Straight Outta Compton: Review

         On a dark street in Compton, circa 1986, a young black man, whom is later revealed to be Eric "Eazy-E" Wright, opens the trunk of his car to unearth a seedy looking manila envelope (presumably full of crack) and a small handgun from a loose subwoofer. The heart-pounding action sequence that ensues, depicting a dope deal gone wrong, intruduces Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) as a mover, a shaker, and the "business man" who will soon front for one of the most subversive hip hop groups in rap music history. 
                                                 

         While the biopic Straight Outta Compton does humanize the members of NWA and portray them as a highly functional dream team of lyricist, producer, and financier (Cube, Dre, and Eazy respectively), it does paint them in a sometimes unrealistically sympathetic light. For instance, little or no attention is given to their aggressively misogynistic lyrics or blatant glamorizing of street violence. In defense of the filmmakers however, the original edited version (initially called the Lord of the Rings version) ran a copious three and a half hours, and the film did have to be shortened to focus primarily on the business aspect of the story.

         Other themes of the film concentrate on interpersonal relationships within the group and the onslaught of unfair treatment of black people by police in underprivileged neighborhoods. In a recreated press conference, the group defends themselves as street laureates who report what they see around them in the rough streets of Compton by way of their "reality raps." This more than accounts for the anger that was endemic to their work. An anger that was missing from Oshea Jackson Jr.'s portrayal of his father. Of course, it's difficult to be as angry as Ice Cube when you're the son of a millionaire. 

          Jason Mitchell does a stand-up job playing the notably complicated Eazy-E, who's dope dealing money was the culprit in getting the group off the ground and in the studio. The film masterfully captures the relationship between Eazy-E and manager Jerry Heller and is even handedly ambiguous about how and why the relationship went sour. When interviewed, the actual Heller exhibited nothing but admiration for his deceased colleague and said he would be sitting front row-center with his lawyer on opening day, having not been asked to participate in the making of the film at any capacity.

         As a fan and a person who grew up listening to NWA, I enjoyed the movie for its music. As a bystander who watched curiously as the rivalry unfolded between Ice Cube and NWA, and then Dr. Dre and Eazy-E, I enjoyed the movie for its story-telling. But as an appreciator of good cinema, I loved the movie for its non-stop pacing, humanism, and artful directing by F. Gary Gray who, by the way, also directed Friday for Ice Cube in 1995.