Epic and Timely

Rating: 8/10 (21 August 2015)

Straight Outta Compton is a musical biopic whose story not only supports the subject's songwriting, but deeply informs it. Individual moments drip with power as we see the shock of the supposed post-racial culture on these talented young men. The music itself is a punch to the ribs, with a liveliness that is beyond contagious. So even as SOC suffers the classic biopic problems of losing focus and cohesion, it overcomes its undeniable faults by being piercingly memorable, strongly thematic, and pulsing with dramatic life. The beat of the film captures what happens when justifiably and systemically volatile young men come into positions of immense power. All the while, we are essentially given a nostalgic history lesson in early-90's pop culture. Some of the dialogue and biopic clichés seem to come straight out of parodic Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, but the beautiful direction and fantastic casting skillfully cover over the weak script. Documentary-like at times, the interplay between the near-perfectly cast NWA members is funny and real. Each of the three core members (Easy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube) are so complex I wish we followed each of them individually in overlapping narratives over different films, negating some of its plot-focus issues. Luckily, where the story gets sloppy, the themes stay solid, never resorting to easy answers or morality tropes when trying to understand the complex (and sadly timely) relationship between race and society. Kinetic and vital, SOC is an epic warning about success that could make waves the way its titular album did upon initial release.