In depth, lengthy, but lacking a solid narrative structure to hold it together

Rating: 7/10 (28 March 2016)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
In the late 80s, a group of young black men, including Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson Junior, in his debut role), Dr Dre (Corey Hawkins), Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) and DJ Yella (Neil Brown Junior) emerge from the streets of Compton, South Central Los Angeles, to form the NWA, a hard core rap band who, in sharp contrast to the laid back, affable lyrics of time gone by, blast out sharp rhymes about police harassment/brutality, gang killings and drug slinging that get right in everyone's face, and even gain attention from the FBI. The content of their songs sees them struggle to get airplay, but Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti), a mainstream record producer, sees their potential and signs them up. But over the course of time, internal conflicts and different ambitions see the group dissipate and veer off in their different, destructive directions.
Hip hop culture certainly dominates the charts today, with its influence even present in other genres of music that are doing the rounds. Straight Outta Compton attempts to probe the origins of a group that subverted the genre, and used it as a platform to vent their anger and frustration at the issues that blighted their lives in the black community at the time, in a manner that some artists over time took out of context and warped into the gangsta rap genre. Director F Gary Grey has certainly compiled a thorough, in depth study of the group's life, which by the end has left you more drained than informed.
The film has a lot of story to tell, but somehow lacks the solid narrative structure to make everything have the maximum effect. For a film with such a length, this is a pretty big problem, and despite containing enough various, often veering, human drama to engage, at numerous points throughout, you're just left wondering when the ending will roll around, probably a natural reaction to not having the most structured story to follow. When it does roll by, you're left feeling completely depleted.
The young cast certainly prove realistic incarnations of the group, whilst as the most recognizable member of the cast, Giamatti turns in a surprisingly impassioned performance as the manager who believes in them, then comes to be regarded as sneaky and manipulative. The recreation and performances are all check, but it maybe needed some miles clocked off, and a better idea of where it's going. ***