Straight Outta Compton (2015)
“What's NWA stand for, anyway? ‘No Whites Allowed’, something like that?” – Jerry.
“No…Niggaz Wit’ Attitudes.” – Eazy-E.
Straight Outta Compton (2015)
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Written by: Jonathan Herman , Andrea Berloff,
Starring: O’Shea Jackson Jr, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr, Aldis Hodge, Paul Giamatti
Music biopics were all the rage during the 2010s, with Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman winning all manner of awards at the end of the decade. However, first came Straight Outta Compton during 2015. Focussed on the rise and fall of gangsta rap supergroup N.W.A, the film was a resounding success, making over $200 Million on a $50 Million budget. It also received critical praise for an ‘honest and candid’ portrayal of the negatives throughout N.W.A’s career – particularly as most N.W.A members worked as producers on the film.
The plot overview is incredibly simple. The film begins in 1986, in Compton, California. Eazy-E (Mitchell) is a drug dealer and gang member, Dr. Dre (Hawkins) is an aspiring D.J, and Ice Cube (Jackson Jr.) is an aspiring rapper. Dr. Dre convinces Eazy-E (the only one with disposable income) to start a record label, Ruthless Records, in order to release some of Ice Cube’s ‘reality raps’ - which focus on the crime, gang violence and police harassment that they and other African Americans have to negotiate daily. After the debut single ‘Boyz-n-the-Hood’ becomes a local hit, the boys form the group N.W.A and sign with manager Jerry Heller (Giamatti) in order to break into the industry. The rest of the film follows the ups and downs of the group through the 80s and 90s.
This movie was really entertaining. As with any biopic, you’ll only enjoy it if the content is interesting or noteworthy. N.W.A is widely regarded as popularising the ‘golden age’ of gangsta rap, which has evolved from a controversial and divisive genre into the basis for a lot of modern pop music. Dr Dre and Ice Cube are also world famous household names. As such, Straight Outta Compton certainly meets the requirements for a successful biopic. With an in-built soundtrack, impressive visuals, and a fun story with exciting characters, it’s an exciting two-and-a-half hours. It also doesn’t hurt that it has a charismatic cast, headlined by Ice Cube’s son Jackson Jr playing his dad (this is pretty cool), and the ever-reliable Giamatti.
That’s not to say everyone will like this film. White supremacists and cops will hate it, courtesy of the Black Lives Matter messaging throughout. There’s a bunch of confronting scenes throughout the film of N.W.A members being racially profiled and harassed by police – most notably the scene when they sit outside their recording studio to eat lunch and are forced to lie on the ground by passing cops. There’s an argument that, much like N.W.A’s lyrics, these scenes could be swinging the pendulum too much to one side and painting the police as the “only bad guys”. I.e. is the movie glorifying the gangster lifestyle or criticising it? I personally think this argument is pretty irrelevant here – the movie is open and honest about the circumstances of N.W.A’s upbringing, and doesn’t shy away from the negatives associated with their gang affiliation. In regards to the representation and accuracy of police brutality shown in the film…I don’t think anyone can argue that the depiction of innocent African American civilians being assaulted by police officers is ‘fiction’ anymore. Therefore all in all, I think Gary Gray has done a great job lacing the moving with relevant social commentary.
One thing that has to be mentioned – it’s definitely a very curated and censored version of N.W.A’s journey. With Ice Cube and Dr. Dre onboard as producers on the project, they were able to dictate exactly what was, and what wasn’t shown. Major critics of the film point to how women are portrayed in the movie, with most presented as partying groupies, and no acknowledgement of the female M.Cs who helped N.W.A on their rise to stardom. The film also conveniently dismissed multiple allegations of physical abuse women have made against Dr Dre. Again, a victory lap is to be expected in any biopic, but it’s worth remembering that the content in this has been heavily filtered while you’re watching.
In summary, if you enjoy entertaining movies and aren’t a white supremacist, you should check this out at some stage. If you’re a fan of rap, and even a fan of biopics in general, you’ll enjoy it.
Rating: 7/10
Suge Knight controversies:
Throughout the film you get to meet the infamous Suge Knight. I won’t reveal what happens but he’s a bad, bad man in the film, and didn’t enjoy how he was represented.
He allegedly threatened the director F. Gary Gray multiple times over text for how he was portrayed.
He then allegedly followed two men – his ‘friend’ Terry Carter and filmmaker Cle Sloan – after an argument on the Straight Outta Compton set, and ran them over with a car.
Suge claimed this was ‘self defence’ (LOL, how do you claim running someone over with a car is self defence), but was charged with voluntary manslaughter and is now in jail.
If anyone is interested in any of his other discretions, have a deep dive into his Wiki page, the man is a psycho.
Peter Heller lawsuit:
Peter Heller (played by Giamatti in the film) also wasn't very happy with how he was portrayed, and filed a lawsuit claiming that a significant amount of the film’s content had been taken from his autobiography.
This was eventually dismissed by a judge.