starring Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis
directed by Tate Taylor
This movie chronicles portions of singer James Brown's life. The focus seems to be on his childhood, his rise to fame, and his relationships with a number of people, most notably Bobby Byrd. Byrd worked with and for James Brown for most of their lives. There is also time spent on his relationship with his father (Joe Brown), his mother (Susie Brown), his second wife (DeeDee), and his manager (Ben Bart). The movie starts with a moment in 1988 and then jumps backwards. The story follows his career as a singer with lots of flashbacks throughout to his early days with and without his parents.
I wasn't crazy about this movie but the musical performances are great, including Chadwick Boseman's dancing. The movie jumps back and forth in time without much in the way of explanation. There are performances of most of James Brown's best known songs. The makeup on Boseman in scenes from the 1980s and later made me wonder what happened to him. There didn't seem to be as much care put into making him look like James Brown in the scenes set in the earlier decades. Boseman's accent in this movie is extra thick. I honestly had trouble understanding everything he said.
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