Favourite Film of the Summer

Favourite Summer Film

My favourite film this summer was Straight Outta Compton, directed by F. Gary Gray. The movie is a biopic centred on the former rap group NWA who were making music from 1986 to 1991 and the film covers the period from 1986 to 1996.

The film depicts the rise of gangster rap, police brutality in America, racism, and partially sexism. The first thing that drew me to the film was my interest in the music. Also the fact that it’s a chance to see how two well-known figures in current media (Dr Dre and Ice Cube) came to the spotlight.

When watching the film, I was hit with instant blunt violence and from that point onwards, my attention was held. There are slow points within the film but they are always adding to the story and are followed by a big event. As somebody who knew the story of NWA before seeing the movie, nothing was new but for somebody who is less familiar, some plot points would definitely shock them.

The soundtrack to the film features old school tracks from NWA’s albums and also newer songs from Dr Dre’s albums. It’s a perfect accompaniment to the film and represents not only Compton, but Los Angeles as a whole.

The film is not heavily edited, and where there are chunks of editing, it’s usually to add drama to a scene or to enhance the sequence artistically. An example of this is the opening scene, where Eazy-E is dealing and the police use a battering ram to break down the door. The sequence shows E running through the house frantically trying to escape, and when he does, the title of the film hits with a black screen. The way it’s edited makes it dramatic and portrays a bold statement, ‘This is Compton”.

I thought that the acting was good for the most part, but I thought that Paul Giamatti could have been better. I think that his character was desperate and absolutely needed NWA, and this wasn’t portrayed to its full potential in the film. There are many dynamics to the story and different subplots that branch off the main story.

Coming in to this movie, I was wondering how the cinematographers would attempt to make a movie set in the ghetto look good, but they pulled it off. The movie looks visually very good, while retaining the rough, torn apart feel of Compton.

The film is a story of triumph and friendship. Compton is one of the most dangerous places to live in America and to see people get out of it and become internationally known superstars was very motivating. You leave the cinema smiling, and the film credits incorporates real life clips of NWA and other significant associates (Eminem, Kendrick Lamar), which gives the film a sense of validity.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the film, notably for the cinematography, acting and the fact that it sticks to the facts.