'Get On Up': Chadwick Boseman does commendable job portraying James Brown
The '42' actor is great in 'Up,' but the movie feels the need to portray every single aspect of Brown's life.
The '42' actor is great in 'Up,' but the movie feels the need to portray every single aspect of Brown's life.
James Brown is a tough act to follow 鈥� or portray in a biopic. Chadwick聽Boseman, who played Jackie Robinson in 鈥�42,鈥� does a commendable job聽of conveying Brown鈥檚 swagger, rasp, and calisthenic stage moves,聽but 鈥淕et On Up,鈥� directed by Tate Taylor (鈥淭he Help鈥�), doesn鈥檛 do the聽performance justice. It鈥檚 one of those biopics that, instead of focusing聽on one telling aspect of a career, feels it has to survey every corner of the聽subject鈥檚 life. The storytelling is mostly linear, with some confusing back-and-forth in the chronology, and it鈥檚 a long slog. The Brown who聽emerges from this film has a monstrous ego to go with his monster talent.聽
He remains closed off to us, as he is to virtually everyone around him. As聽his longtime backup singer Bobby Byrd, Nelsan Ellis is nuanced, and聽Viola Davis, as Brown鈥檚 mother, has a powerful backstage scene with her聽estranged son that is the film鈥檚 highpoint 鈥� even if it鈥檚 plunked into the聽film jarringly out of sequence. There is no law requiring a biopic to make聽鈥渘ice鈥� with its subject, but 鈥淕et On Up,鈥� which presents Brown almost聽entirely unflatteringly except as a performer, makes you wonder why the聽filmmakers (including Mick Jagger, one of 聽its producers) took the trouble. Grade:聽C+ (Rated PG-13 for sexual content, drug use, some strong language, and violent situations.)