From the director of The Help comes this stirring, thrillingly soundtracked biopic of soul and funk superstar James Brown.
Taylor’s portrait of the ambitious young singer shows us a figure who fights past a childhood of extreme poverty, abuse and abandonment in rural Georgia and a short spell behind bars to become the ‘Godfather of Soul’ and one of the 20th century’s most influential musical figures.
Newcomer Chadwick Boseman as James Brown is supported by an impressive ensemble cast with Viola Davis as the mother who leaves him, Octavia Spencer (both stars of The Help) as the aunt who believes in him, and Dan Aykroyd (Ghostbusters) as the booking agent who recognises his potential.
Boseman is sensational as Brown; especially in the onstage sequences where he fully inhabits Brown’s frenzied choreography and raw, instinctive vocal style, but also in showing the physical and emotional transformations Brown exerienced as he exploded into stardom.
An egotistical perfectionist, paranoid and sexually exploitative, Brown is candidly portrayed; the film doesn’t diminish his flaws, but explores them alongside his supreme talent, and is all the more satisfying for it.