Chadwick Boseman (1976-2020)

Like many, we were very surprised and deeply saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Chadwick Boseman, who died on Friday 28th August. He was 43. The actor had been diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago but chose not to make the information public.

Whilst he will be remembered for portraying T'Challa/Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Boseman's other films saw him playing trailblazers and barrier-breakers, always with an undeniable 

Born in Anderson, South Carolina, Boseman studied at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he was mentored by actress Phylicia Rashad and graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in directing. He also attended the British American Drama Academy in Oxford. In an interview, Boseman stated: "I started out as a writer and a director. I started acting because I wanted to know how to relate to the actors."

He started his acting career on TV, with appearances on shows like Law & Order, Cold Case, ER, Lie To Me, Castle, and Fringe. He also appeared in a couple of short films, and made his feature film debut in 2008 in The Express, a sports biopic about Ernie Davis, the first African-American football player to win the Heisman Trophy. He also appeared in war drama The Kill Hole (2012) and sports drama Draft Day (2014).

Boseman first made a major impression on Hollywood when he played the lead role of baseball player Jackie Robinson in sports biopic 42 (2013). Directed by Brian Helgeland, 42 tells the true story of how Robinson became the first African-American athlete to play Major League Baseball when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, predictably (and depressingly) followed by racist abuse on and off the field, from fellow players and fans alike. The film shows Robinson's inner turmoil at having to take the abuse and not react, and his fire and determination not to be beaten down, which Boseman channels superbly. At one point, he says "I don't care if they like me. I didn't come here to make friends. I don't even care if they respect me. I know who I am. I've got enough respect for myself. I do not want them to beat me."

His next major film role would be another biopic, but about the life of a remarkably different man to the stoic Jackie Robinson. Boseman played Godfather of Soul James Brown in Tate Taylor's Get On Up (2014). Whilst the biopic is a little uneven, Boseman's exuberant and flamboyant performance captures the soul of the man. After that, he played the Egyptian god Thoth in Alex Proyas' mindboggling Gods Of Egypt (2016) before he made his first appearance in the MCU.

However, in between playing Black Panther in four movies, Boseman took on several other roles, including a young man on the trail of revenge in Message From The King (2016) and NAACP lawyer (and future Supreme Court Justice) Thurgood Marshall in Marshall (2017). Marshall would go on to be the first African-American Supreme Court Justice when he was nominated for the role by John F. Kennedy. Again, it's a very dignified performance.

Of course, though, it was his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe which propelled him to the stratosphere. Relatively unknown when his casting was announced in 2014 (although he'd got 42 under his belt), he soon made an incredibly strong first impression when he appeared in Captain America: Civil War (2016) as the prince of Wakanda who is thrust into a leadership role when his father is killed in the bombing at the Vienna conference which would ratify the Sokovia Accords. Considering how stacked the roster of MCU characters was at this point, it's a testament to Boseman as an actor that Black Panther didn't get lost in the muddle. 

Of course, the character went on to have his own solo film in 2018. Black Panther broke all sorts of records and became the first superhero movie to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. Showing that his performance in Captain America: Civil War was no one-off, Boseman carries the film with charm, power, and charisma. He has a wonderful rapport with Letitia Wright (playing Shuri) and Angela Bassett (who plays Ramonda). You believe him as a man torn between opening Wakanda up to the world and keeping traditions. For me, Black Panther is one of the stronger MCU standalone films and part of that is down to Boseman's performance. 

In Avengers: Infinity War (2018), T'Challa is one of the victims of Thanos' snap and blinks out of existence, to be revived in Avengers: Endgame (2019) and join with the other Wakandans to participate in the final battle. Whatever else you may say about the film, there's an undeniable joy when you see the characters returning. There were plans for Boseman to reprise his role as T'Challa in a sequel to Black Panther, due for release in 2022. 

Boseman released two films prior to his death, the cop drama 21 Bridges (2019), and Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods (2020) in which he appears in flashback as Stormin" Norman, the leader of the all-Black squadron sent in to recover the cargo from the downed CIA helicopter. He had completed filming Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, based on the play by August Wilson in which he plays the ambitious trumpet player Levee opposite his Get On Up castmate Viola Davis as the titular Ma Rainey, for Netflix prior to the COVID-19 shutdown.

In an interview with The Wrap in 2018, Boseman said: "What I have always wanted to do is to break those barriers in every way that I can. If I’m looking at something, I think, ‘How do I break a barrier in this role? What can I bring to the table that’s different?’" From portraying barrier-breaking rea-life people with nuance and style, to showing a generation of Black children that they could be superheroes too, Boseman certainly broke down some  barriers. That he was determined to still work and take on majorly physical roles whilst undergoing and recovering from various operations and chemotherapy is testament to his strength and soul. 

Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this most difficult time.

Review: Get On Up (UK Cert: 12A)

Not many musicians can say they were chiefly responsible for creating a genre of music, influencing artists such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, and Prince, as well as being one of early hip-hop’s most sampled acts, but that’s what James Brown did. Having had no formal music training, Brown was one of those rare songwriters who experimented with styles, even the rules of what was considered music, and came up with US Billboard Chart denting hit after hit (Brown’s emphasis on the bass and rhythm sections, that would eventually become known as funk, yet the same man also wrote one of the world’s most popular love songs, It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World). The most memorable, game changing geniuses are usually flawed, complex, and contradictory; several words that only begin to describe James Brown. With Get On Up, The Help’s Tate Taylor bravely tries to sum up Brown’s life in just over two hours. The result is a decent, if patchy, biopic of The Godfather of Soul.

Alarm bells rang in my head when a 12A certificate flashed up on the cinema screen. You wouldn’t produce a film based on Keith Richards or Axl Rose’s life and give it a 12A rating; the same goes for James Brown. This is one of Get On Up’s biggest problems; Jez and John-Henry Butterworth’s script isn’t concerned with showing James Brown the womaniser, drug addict, or his erratic behaviour in later years, this is James Brown: the million-selling, founding father of funk. All of this is hinted at in Get On Up (an awkward and funny scene where Brown’s current and ex-wife see Brown off at the airport; a close up of Brown using PCP; the comical opening scene where Brown, out of his mind on drugs, waltzes in on a self-improvement seminar, shotgun aloft, demanding to know who used his private bathroom), but that’s just it; Brown’s personal life is hinted at, nothing more. We learn very little about James Brown other than he was brilliantly talented, a borderline sociopath, surrounded by yes men.

Instead of recounting Brown’s life from beginning to end, the Butterworth’s script zigzags frenetically throughout his life, juxtaposing scenes that are decades apart. You also have Brown (played by newcomer Chadwick Boseman) repeatedly break the fourth wall, glancing at the viewer, occasionally walking out of his own scene to talk to the camera and explain what’s going on inside his head. This is both strength and a massive flaw for the film. There are clever moments when Boseman glances at the camera, silently telling the audience, “I know how cool I am,” or, when he argues with the management at the record company he’s signed to, he’s saying, “This man is top of the class at stupid school.” In one stand out scene, where Brown’s manager, Ben Bart (played with relish by Dan Aykroyd) rants at Brown about how you can’t go changing the rules of the music industry, Brown walks away, leaving Bart lecturing to no one, and argues his point directly to camera, a glint in his eye as he sits back down. Early on in the film, you wonder why we’re not shown Brown’s reunion with his mother, years after she walked out when he was a child, leaving him with his abusive father. Taylor smartly places this scene after his best friend, Bobby Byrd (Nelsan Ellis) walks away from him, having finally had enough of Brown’s arrogance and temper. Despite the money and the adoration from his fans, Brown was ultimately alone; by pushing away Bobby Byrd, he lost the one person who didn’t see him as a meal ticket (we soon realise that Brown’s mother hasn’t come to build bridges, she wants a hand out).

The problem with this scatter-shot approach is that at no point do we go into any detail about Brown’s life. It feels more like damage control than a warts-and-all biopic, Taylor swerving away from Brown’s personal troubles and instead trying to recreate his energy and charisma. For most of Get On Up, you get a rose-tinted trip down memory lane instead of a dig beneath the surface study of James Joseph Brown.

On the plus side, Chadwick Boseman’s performance is astonishing. While he’s taller, and doesn’t have quite the same build as Brown, Boseman copies the tics and expressions perfectly, able to pull off the steps, spins and splits as if he was created in a lab using Brown’s DNA. Instead of miming to the songs, it’s Boseman’s voice you hear, and while it isn’t quite Brown, Boseman is as close as anyone is going to get. When he sings, Boseman captures the screams and moans of ecstasy, longing, and regret that made Brown’s voice instantly recognisable.

Having got the rights to Brown’s music, Taylor ticks off virtually every song from his repertoire. Not only will the music have you moving around in your seat, you’re also reminded what a pioneering songwriter Brown was, how easily he could come up with an impossible not to dance to riff, such as the tight and stripped down Cold Sweat. A handful of famous songs are missing – The Boss and Hot Pants don’t make it in – but you will struggle to find a better soundtrack this year, or for a good many years.

Would James Brown have wanted a formulaic, by the numbers biopic about him? Probably not, but the approach that the Butterworth’s script takes means that fans won’t find out anything they don’t already know. Get On Up is a mile away from the step back and let the viewer judge biopics of Ray or 24 Hour Party People; it’s lightweight, but entertaining enough. If you want to appreciate the genius of James Brown, the best thing you can do is buy a copy of Live at the Apollo, one of the greatest live albums ever recorded. Not only does the set skilfully swap from raging funk to slow, tender ballads, it’s a lesson in how a lead singer can get a crowd worked up and have them at his command.

3 out of 5

Matt