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Get On Up, the biopic of James Brown will have you jiving in your theatre seats. Coming off the surprise success of his last film, 2011’s Oscar winning The Help, director Tate Taylor opted for an unconventional form for telling the life story of James Brown one of the most unique musicians of our time, and it paid off. Taylor’s vision, bundled with an exceptional script and strong performances make Get On Up a solid choice for both music and movie fans.

Unlike the standard biopic, the screenplay by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth doesn’t plot out a chronological progression of James’s life or focus on one defining chapter but instead jumps from one pivotal moment to another – often decades apart as they construct the character, ambition and legacy of their subject. Chadwick Boseman’s James Brown works a bit as a guide through his life, occasionally breaking the fourth wall with a direct address or just a look to the audience. While I usually view breaking the fourth wall as child’s play, Taylor uses the technique to effectively move the audience along through the non-linear plot structure.

The film doesn’t shy away from the negative parts of James’s life – it samples his drug use, domestic abuse, and sorrow at the loss of a child – but it focuses on the music and how life events influenced his career.

The film starts with James Brown delivering a humorous reprimand to a woman who used his personal lavatory while attending a meeting in one of his many business facilities in 1988, that scene later sets in motion the drug induced car chase that would famously land him in jail. But, instead of following through to the car chase, we head back to 1968 when James was at the height of his career and launched his first USO tour to Vietnam. We then go further back into his childhood to get a taste of his life growing up in the back country of Augusta, Georgia with his parents.

As the movie bounces from the ups and downs of James’s life a complete picture of the man begins to form. How he struggled to take care of himself in his younger days after being abandoned by his parents, how the weight of being a successful black man led to his political involvement and how the pressures of fame and success alienated him from family and friends. The film doesn’t shy away from the negative parts of James’s life – it samples his drug use, domestic abuse, and sorrow at the loss of a child – but it focuses on the music and how life events influenced his career.

Boseman does a stand-up job in the lead role. His dedication to the character is evident and his physical transformation is remarkable. Nelson Ellis’s understated performance as Bobby Byrd – James’s stalwart companion, musical collaborator and best friend – does what Byrd never did, steals the show. Viewers will most likely recognize Ellis from television series True Blood where he plays the wise cracking flamboyant jack-of-all-trades, Lafayette. While James Brown might be the main draw, Bobby Byrd is the heart of the film. The relationship between Byrd and Brown informs the viewer about the evolution of James’s character and the chemistry between Boseman and Elis is incredible. On top of Elis, Boseman shares the screen with some impressive co-stars. Viola Davis gives a stirring performance as James’s estranged mother while Lennie James captures the desperation of James’s poor gruff father perfectly. It was refreshing to see Dan Aykroyd on the big screen again playing James’s manager and business partner Ben Bart. My only disappointment with the cast is that Octavia Spencer is altogether underused as Aunt Honey, James’ adoptive mother.

While it might feel a little too safe Taylor made the right choice by opting to show a more complete portrait of the artist instead of dwelling on the more scandalous periods of his life. Having little knowledge of James Brown and his musical legacy I found the film to be informative but it was the music that made it a true pleasure to watch.

Reviewed by Vithiya Murugadas.

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