Review: Notorious (2009)

[Michael Dequina]

_Notorious_ (R) *** 1/2 (out of ****)

         If there's a genre especially notorious 
(pardon the pun) for too often coming off as 
glossy and artificial, it's ironically the 
authorized biography--and so perhaps the most 
striking quality of the estate-endorsed 
_Notorious_ is that director George Tillman Jr. 
and screenwriters Reggie Rock Bythewood and Cheo 
Hodari Coker allow their (in)famous subject, the 
slain rapper the Notorious B.I.G., to indeed live 
up to the moniker.  That atypical degree of frank 
honesty, plus the electrifying efforts of a 
vibrant cast of acting discoveries, refreshes the standard music biopic tropes.

         And, indeed, this is a recognizable 
meteoric rise, devastating fall showbiz story, 
and as with many many others' that of the 
eventual Biggie Smalls begins humbly: as 
Christopher Wallace (Jamal Woolard), son of 
single mother Voletta Wallace (Angela Bassett, 
sparingly but effectively used), who earns his 
keep one of the few ways a teen growing up on the 
mean streets of Brooklyn can--as a drug 
dealer.  The hustle ends up landing him behind 
bars, where his side hobby of writing rhymes 
becomes his passion and ultimate ticket to 
success, excess, and a place in hip-hop 
history--sadly further cemented when he was 
killed in a drive-by shooting as he was reaching 
the height of his fame in 1997.

         One of the inherent difficulties of any 
biopic is condensing entire lifetimes down to a 
couple of hours, but this limitation works in 
_Notorious_'s favor.  Aided by the brisk rhythm 
of Dirk Westervelt's editing, not only does one 
truly feel the too much, too quickly whirlwind of 
Wallace's rise to stardom, it also places it in 
its proper perspective, for the meat of his story 
really did only take place over the course of a 
few years--which then reinforces and reminds that 
the principal players involved were all quite 
young when the literally life and death drama 
unfolded.  That issue of youth is key to the 
angle taken by Tillman, Bythewood, and Coker, for 
in all of Wallace's actions, both positive and 
negative, there is the sense of someone who has 
yet to mature putting on various guises of 
adulthood.  While the film does not use such an 
idea to excuse Wallace's more unsavory actions, 
all of his behavior--from the criminal activity 
and rather reckless womanizing to his hasty 
marriage to chanteuse Faith Evans (Antonique 
Smith) and all manner of shallow, fame-fed 
indulgences--are presented as examples of many of 
how the young Wallace asserts certain notions 
about his being a grown man.  That's the core of 
_Notorious_: that relatable story behind the 
entertainment icon, not, say, the scandalous 
details of the media-fueled east coast vs. west 
coast hip-hop feud that ultimately led to his 
demise, which is fairly objectively handled here 
as being one of those signpost moments for 
Wallace as he works his way to figuring out what being a man truly entails.

         While certain details of Wallace's 
specific situation, such as that major portion of 
hip-hop history/legend, gives the story a certain 
larger than life quality, maintaining the story's 
human dimension is Woolard.  _Notorious_ marks 
his acting debut, but he proves to be a natural, 
as he completely inhabits the character, from 
Biggie's famously smooth swagger to a deeper, 
almost boyish vulnerability that connects even 
when he is at his most self-serving.  The other 
lesser known cast members in principal roles 
(Smith, adding layers to the somewhat 
underwritten part of Wallace's frequently wronged 
wife; Naturi Naughton, delivering a fierce 
breakout performance as a sexually and 
*emotionally* brazen Lil' Kim) so impressively 
disappear into the roles that it's almost 
disappointing when more recognizable actors such 
as Derek Luke and Anthony Mackie turn up as, 
respectively, Sean "Puffy" Combs and Tupac 
Shakur.  This is no knock on their performances, 
as they do reliably offer solid support, but 
their own recognizability in such iconic roles 
momentarily breaks the air of authenticity 
created by the fresher faces surrounding them. 
(Actually, if there's a glaringly Hollywood-ized 
note in the film, it's the rather idealized 
vision of Combs, who, perhaps not surprisingly, 
has executive producer credit on the film.)

         But, as noted, it's only momentary, as 
_Notorious_ is not only an engaging take on the 
familar tale of someone of modest means realizing 
a great dream--if at an incredible cost--but an 
evocative recreation of a decade-past (!) time in 
music whose creative, cultural, and 
social  influences continue to resonate in the 
landscape today.  The film does work a bit hard 
by the end to play up the tale's inspirational 
qualities (best exemplified by its use of one of 
my chief cinematic pet peeves: closing on-screen 
text that goes beyond mere reportage of fact to 
make a labored statement), but it really did not 
have to, as the film's virtues and messages, much 
like man whose story it tells, speak plainly for themselves.


(c)2009 Michael Dequina



Michael Dequina
mrbrown at iname.com
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