NOTORIOUS (15)

NOTORIOUS (15)
Cast: Jamal Woolard, Derek Luke, Anthony Mackie, Angela Bassett, Christopher Jordan Wallace
Running Time: 1hr 55mins
Director: George Tillman Jr
Out Now

FOR rap fans there’s no better way to spend a night in – as the story of Christopher ‘Notorious BIG’ finally hits the masses.
I was actually in the States a month after the murder of East Coast’s favourite son, where the shock of his March 1997 killing was still palpable throughout various newscasts – with his face emblazoned on the covers of Vibe, Source and HHC, with the apt headline of ‘RIP’.
This competent movie, executively produced by his Bad Boys Records boss Sean ‘P Diddy’ (then known as ‘Puff Daddy’) Combs, is littered with noteworthy performances and a cracking soundtrack – but cannot quite do enough to pull itself clear of being simply generic rise-and-fall fare.
Newcomer Jamal Woolard’s resemblance to ‘Biggie Smalls’ (aka ‘Big Poppa’) is quite uncanny as he shines in the role which sees Wallace’s own son Christopher Jordan start the film as young Biggie.
‘Notorious’ charts Biggie’s teenage crack-dealing days, poor parenting and chronic infidelity as he eventually rises into the limelight under the guidance of Puffy – overcooked by Derek Luke.
Biggie’s long-suffering mom Voletta (Angela Bassett) and major love interests Lil’ Kim (Naturi Naughton) and Faith Evans (Antonique Smith), all feel the pain of the iconic rapper’s quick rise to fame.
It does also touch on the West-East Coast confrontation – exasperated by the killing of Biggie’s arch-rival Tupac Shakur (Anthony Mackie) in late 1996, but doesn’t push the envelope by trying to answer any controversial questions.
It could have actually done with a bit more running time to flesh out some of the more interesting sub-plots and source material – and ends up as Biggie-lite.
But as for Woolard, in a word from one of Biggie’s No 1 hits, I was simply ‘hypnotised’ by his performance – and he alone makes this a solid biopic worth considering.

ESP Rating: 3/5

Gavin Miller