The Boys from the Hood !!!

Rating: 8/10 (9 February 2016)

'Straight Outta Compton' directed by F. Gary Gray commences with police radio conversations about possible criminal activity happening on the spot which gets overlapped by reporters talking about the increased potency of the gangs in L.A. and the associated danger to society that comes along with that. So right from the get go, even before the arrival of any visuals, the director establishes the rough and chaotic surroundings that surround the characters in the film. 'Straight Outta Compton' portrays the rise and fall of the gangsta rap group N.W.A. and explores the band members, their natures, their motivations and also pays homage to their talent.
Although the film is basically about the group N.W.A., but the screenplay written by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff which is obviously based on real events has a very potent social poignancy to it that not only portrays America and L.A. during the late 80s and early 90s, but it also lays down the unfortunate relevance of the storyline and themes explored in the film with current times. We start off with the young men who before they became N.W.A. We see them living their ordinary lives in the poverty-ridden hoods of L.A. We can feel the discontentment with their lives in their eyes and can also feel their anger about the somewhat blatant racism in society which on many occasions gets perpetuated by cops, the upholders of the law. But they use this anger and oppression to fuel their talent through lyrics in their songs. But apart from the racism and the social inequality, 'Straight Outta Compton' also deals with the theme of what it means to be a celebrity. After the boys achieve success through their talent, we see them standing at the proverbial crossroads where they have to choose between continuing to work hard and use their talent, or allow the business side of their careers to overwhelm their art and reap the rewards of their success and drown themselves in money, random sex and parties.
The film is directed really well for the most part by F. Gary Gray. The pacing is good. The cinematography is also brilliant. The film starts out in the late 80s and then progresses till the mid 90s and we do get that period feel to it. The editing is also great specially in the concert scenes which are directed and edited with a passion and the viewer feels like he/she is in the audience.
The acting is also very solid. Although the film follows the whole group itself, but the main focus is on Eazy-E, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre. The actors playing these characters are Jason Mitchell, O'Shea Jackson Jr.(Ice Cube's own son) and Corey Hawkins respectively. Although the film has been accused of ignoring some elements of the real lives of the characters, but as far as I am concerned Gary Gray never completely makes angelic and flawless figures out of these characters which ends up helping the actors to show their range. We see the darker and somewhat objectionable elements of these characters which allows the actors to venture into grey areas. Paul Giamatti also comes up with a very good supporting performance.
The film still isn't perfect. One reason for it is the fact that although the screenplay is based on real life events, but I still think the story gets a bit predictable from the midway point onwards. The storyline is very standard depicting the rise of a group of artists and then their downfall through in-fighting and the obscene excesses of wealth. These transitions could have been presented by Gray in a better way without some of the mainstream elements. There are also some guest appearance of real-life artists which felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped and looked a bit gimmicky.
I am not a rap/hip-hop fan. I have always been a classic rock fanatic. I have admired the poetry and depth of the lyrics that have been written by a number of rap artists, but never really have I gravitated towards hip-hop as a music genre. So if you can make a film which is primarily based on a hip-hop group and make me like it so much, you have clearly made a brilliant film. The brilliance for the film lies in its technical elements coupled with the substantial themes that are explored that range from individualistic to a broader social level. I don't think it's perfect, but it still is a significant biopic of talented musicians.