Ahead of the Bob Marley: One Love biopic coming out on Valentine’s Day, Paramount has been busy promoting the film with several premieres worldwide, and some of the memorable moments from the movie are already causing a stir.
The film premiered in Jamaica earlier this month, with British royals Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex Megan Markle making a surprise appearance in the United Kingdom earlier this week and in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
Many who enjoyed viewing the film before its worldwide release have shared reactions, including Jamaican poet and musician Mutabaruka, who said he became emotional during the film.
Another entertaining aspect of the film is Bob and his wife Rita Marley’s relationship- riddled with ups and downs but with definite commitment and infidelity- in which Rita did not take too kindly to Bob’s behavior and let it be known.
According to Ziggy Marley in a Rolling Stone interview, his mother “box” Marley in his face, which is captured in the film. Ziggy serves as a producer on the film, and as a Marley child, he is somewhat of an authority on the events shown in the movie led by his mother, Rita Marley.
In the article, Rolling Stone interviews Jamaican British actress Lashana Lynch, who plays Rita Marley, who she says is represented in the film as the strong and authoritative figure she was in Marley’s life and not reduced to just his backup singer or wife but more as a protector and in the particular scene, as his voice of reason.
“With her being a wife and a mother, there’s danger of Mrs. Marley being reduced to just those two roles in her life,” but “she was so much more and represents so much, and so much to Bob. I was just determined to have her be what she needed to in the film,” Lynch says.
Lynch’s description is aptly seen in what the publication calls one of the most “dramatic” and “pivotal” scenes where she and Bob argue, and she ‘shot him a ‘box’ to put some sense in his head, as Jamaicans would say.
Kingsley Ben-Adir, who plays Bob Marley, says the scene reflects a vulnerable moment that was redrafted several times, with producers including Ziggy and the family being careful that the artist’s masculinity and the family’s vulnerability are safeguarded while telling the truth to the world.
“That was a deep discussion between Lashana and me and Ziggy and the family. There are lines in that scene that are deeply personal to the family. It was a decision for them to make, how much they wanted to share,” Ben-Adir says.
Director Reinaldo Marcus Green added, “Rita would get angry, and she would slap Bob. For us to see that is great. Ziggy wasn’t saying, ‘Let’s pretend that didn’t happen.’ ”
Throughout it all Ziggy Marley’s objective was to tell the truth about his father and present him to the world in the film as authentic as possible. ”
In the meantime, as the Biopic comes close to airing, much attention has been paid to the life and relationships of Bob Marley, whose birthday passed this week.
Earlier this week, the mother of Damian Marley, Cindy Breakspeare, remembered the artist on his birthday.
“Bob, on what would have been your 79th Birthday, I celebrate the incredible impact you’ve had globally, cherish our amazing son Damian, and reminisce about the beautiful times we shared—from 56 Hope Road to your mother’s home in Delaware and Miami, New York, Oakley Street in London, The Bahamas, Trinidad, and beyond. The memories are countless, but our love for you is endless. Happy Birthday to the people’s hero loved and revered by all,” she wrote on Instagram.
Breakspeare was, however, dragged by many online for the posts, as some fans commented on her being with Bob and having a child for him while he was married to Rita.
It’s unclear if Cindy’s character features in the upcoming biopic.
