F. Gary Gray's gift to the world and N.W.A.

Rating: 9/10 (19 August 2015)

"It's the film of my generation." I uttered that exact phrase to my wife following what was one of the most vibrant experiences in a theater in some time. An undeniable love letter to one of the most influential groups in rap music history, F. Gary Gray's "Straight Outta Compton" is a vivacious and powerfully timely piece that stands as the single best film of the year thus far. I can't recall a more prolific biopic that institutes its own sensibilities about its subjects with such adoration and respect. Acknowledging the absence of certain events in the lives of Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Easy E, and simply approaching the film as a piece of fiction, the movie is damn near flawless.
Telling the story of the group NWA, as they emerge from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
This is one of the best examples of a film where three leads are treated with equal focus and respect. Each performer, O'Shea Jackson, Jr. (portraying Ice Cube), Jason Mitchell (portraying Easy E), and Corey Hawkins (portraying Dr. Dre.) all deliver invigorating performances. Jackson, Jr., the real-life son of Ice Cube, lives inside the character, delivering lines of powerful meaning. Mitchell finds his stride early in the film, executing a charisma and charm that few actors can deliver in a film such as this. Oscar-worthy is too broad a term to describe his abilities in the film, it's downright sensational and something I'm sure to remember for some time. Hawkins grows into the role as each minute progresses, before launching himself into the psyche of Dr. Dre and dissolving into the man. Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti follows the energy and arc of his character with determination and presents another strong performance for his résumé. Another strong standout is R. Marcos Taylor as Suge Knight, the closest thing to a conventional movie villain but an embodiment of greed and aggression.
"Straight Outta Compton" is so much more than a biopic. It's a full- on musical epic, a character study that isn't shy about what it knows and what it decides to show its audience. The music is at the core, but the lives and message are what really drive the movie. Looking back at films like "Selma," a film that captured the time so perfectly and effortlessly, Gray's film manages to create its own defining staples in our nation's history. It's honest about the truth of the streets. As someone who grew up in both the Bronx and Jersey City, two urban cities with its own fair share of hardships (and in no way comparing either to Compton, CA), I appreciated everything that the film chose to show and say. The hunger for money and acceptance, or the ill-fitting look of a man from the ghetto who sits in a house that is larger than anything he could have ever dreamed. The script and story by Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff, S. Leigh Savidge, and Alan Wenkus is littered with fantastic narrative elements and raw projections of these men and who they were/are.
Gray's film is not just an acting and storytelling showcase, it's also one of the technical marvels of the year. Cinematographer Matthew Libatique, Oscar-nominee for "Black Swan," gives a polished and engaging feel to every scene he shoots. His decisions about framing either an emotional moment or a light chuckle for the audience to indulge, is simple mesmerizing. Editors Billy Fox and Michael Tronick take 147 minutes of epic storytelling, and never let up for a second. I was involved in every scene, every frame, and every trait that Gray's film had to offer. Composer Joseph Trapenese (another Jersey City native!) takes his opportunities well to inject a swell of sentimentality and passion when the moment calls for it. You don't expect a composer to shine in a film about a music group yet he does tremendously.
This is film is not for everyone. I'd be hard-pressed to recommend this film to many people unless I was sure about what films they typically like. It's vulgar yet genuine, and graphic yet sensitive. The music takes over your soul though. I've been playing N.W.A. music the entire time I've been writing this, letting the lyrics and beats take on a brand new meaning because of Gray's masterpiece. And that's exactly what the film is...a masterpiece. A film that needs to be considered by not just awards, but by all who love daring filmmaking.
"Straight Outta Compton" is distributed by Universal Pictures and is currently in theaters.