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Notorious Film Review

Posted on 27. Jan, 2009 by Administrator in Film/TV

By Todd Gilchrist

Much like classic rock fans will endlessly debate the artistic superiority of either The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, so too will a divide forever exist between the respective followers of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. During their heyday, I was a fan of both equally, but in the years since their deaths I admit that my allegiance has leaned in Biggie’s direction, mostly because of the consistency (if significantly limited quantity) of his music.

His music also happens to be the main reason that Notorious, the biopic of the slain rapper’s life and death, works as well as it does: with a soundtrack that authentically revels in his musical evolution and highlights his versatile lyricism, audiences can forgive director George Tillman Jr.’s dramatic shortcuts and narrative oversimplifications and enjoy the film as a generally satisfying tribute to the remarkably talented musician.

The film stars newcomer Jamal Woolard as Christopher “Biggie” Wallace, a student-turned drug dealer who grows up in Brooklyn under the tough, watchful eye of his mother Voletta (Angela Bassett). Discovering his double life, Voletta throws him out into the streets, where he slowly builds credibility both as a street hustler and rapper before landing in jail. Upon release, Chris tries to return to a life on the straight and narrow, eventually crossing paths with Sean “Puffy” Combs (Derek Luke), who sees his potential and offers him a chance to rap professionally. Combining Biggie’s street-savvy lyricism with pop polish, Puffy soon makes the rapper a star, only for his protégé to fall victim to an assassin’s bullet when the violent content of his lyrics escalates a brewing conflict between East and West Coast rappers, notably the volatile Tupac Shakur (Anthony Mackie).

Not the least of which because the film is produced by the real Combs and Voletta Wallace, Notorious is exceedingly sympathetic to Wallace, although it rightfully chronicles the irresponsibility and amorality of his youth. Woolard, whose congested delivery comes as close as possible to recreating Biggie’s voice without purely doing an imitation, does a terrific job of inhabiting the rapper’s larger-than-life persona, and gets right his indescribable but undeniable charm. Meanwhile, Luke is suitably ambiguous as Combs, whose capitalist-philosopher is as shrewd as he is opportunistic. And as Biggie’s contemporary and sometime-adversary, Mackie isn’t quite right to play the explosively charismatic Shakur, but thanks to some calculated voiceover, he helps the film accurately capture the introspective, paranoid, and vitriolic sides of the rapper’s conflicted personality.

Ultimately, the film’s biggest shortcoming is its unwavering fealty to classic biopic formulas, which include a narrative arc for Wallace’s life that ties up all loose ends; according to Notorious, for example, immediately prior to his death, he made peace with all of the women in his life and dedicated his musical future to more spiritual and uplifting material. (Of course, few people know how much of this actually transpired.) But thankfully the film’s generosity with Biggie’s legacy also extends to his amazing music, which is not just used frequently to underscore his life but deconstructed song by song to emphasize its quality and uniqueness. Mind you, such praise might seem automatic coming from a longtime fan of Biggie. But even as an otherwise generic and conventional biopic, Notorious nevertheless manages to convey what made both “Biggie” and Christopher Wallace so memorable, in the process introducing the man and his music to a whole new generation of fans.

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Tags: Film Review, Notorious