Director Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Bob Marley: One Love is a biopic that is designed to both honor its subject and be illuminating for those who are only aware of the man’s broad pop culture image. Beginning amid political crisis in Jamaica and chronicling the creation of the iconic Bob Marley And The Wailers album Exodus, the film provides an intimate look at Marley’s life that is in part based on the memories of those who were closest to him. The stars of the movie were aware in the making of it that there is a public perception of the legendary reggae singer, and they wanted to show more.
As captured in the video above, I had the opportunity to talk with Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton and Reinaldo Marcus Green earlier this month during the London press day for Bob Marley: One Love, and one question I asked each of them was about how the movie confronts misconceptions about the beloved singer. They spoke to what his music means to so many people and the value of the insight provided by Marley’s family and friends.
Kingsley Ben-Adir, playing the eponymous role in the film, had a great challenge ahead of him within this arena, and he spoke to his specific interest in showing the side of Bob Marley’s life of which even the most die-hard fans aren’t aware. Said the actor,
The family and the studio and I, we spoke from the beginning really about wanting to do something different. We all have an idea of who Bob is, and we all know bits of the music, and the family wanted to make a movie to show a more personal side of Bob – to really try and tap into his vulnerability and to explore what he was going through during this time and through his life and some of his struggles so that Bob's fans and the audience can feel more of a personal connection to him.
Fans have a tendency to deify pop culture figures of Bob Marley’s stature, but Kingley Ben-Adir wanted to show that, like all of us, he was human:
We all have an idea of Bob; he is an icon and a hero, and we've all got the images. But I think with the film it was about trying to understand him as a man. And I was starting from scratch really. I thought I knew stuff about Bob, but I really, the first six weeks of the process I was learning and finding out so much. And it wasn't just the books. It was his family and friends who were sharing the most personal stories. So it was a trip.
In her response, Lashana Lynch (who plays Bob Marley’s wife, Rita Marley) spoke to the impact that Bob Marley made on the world not only when he was alive but also via legacy. It’s been more than 40 years since Marley passed away at the age of 36, and that time has seen people make their own personal connections and associations with his image and art:
I think there's always misconceptions that you assume with people in the public eye, and it's a real interrogation actually into what we think we know after the amount of years that we had Bob and the amount of years that we have had him spiritually on the Earth. We've painted our own pictures, we've added memories to his songs – plays at birthdays, weddings, garden parties, and you have a feeling and an emotional response to his music and to him.
For Lynch, it was important for Bob Marley: One Love to investigate who he was as a person, and she believes that co-star Kingley Ben-Adir found that in his performance. She continued,
Here we really get to dive into his humanity, what he felt like spiritually. And I got to learn that firsthand just through Kingsley and his portrayal. I just challenge people who know Bob or think they know Bob to just park it for a second whilst watching a movie and just dive into this retelling of him.
Bob Marley: One Love is now playing in theaters everywhere, and it is now the number one movie at the box office. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more from my time talking with the director and cast of the new feature, and preview what’s ahead film-wise for the rest of the year by checking out our 2024 Movie Release Calendar.
