Chris Wallace's eyeblink rise and fall tragically serve the biopic format well. Wallace aka Biggie Smalls aka The Notorious B.I.G. broke in 1994 with "Ready to Die" and was murdered in 1997, sixteen days before the release of "Life After Death." He can credibly be played by the same actor (Jamal Woolard) without a suspension of disbelief. Events from his life during these years are uniformly interesting and they easily stack into a complex arc.
Biggie always had the talent, rhyming to himself and to his friends. It took Puff Daddy's (Derek Luke) compromising genius to make him a sensation beyond Bed-Stuy. Puffy strongly encouraged Biggie to soften his image and rap against the early eighties song "Juicy Fruit." The resulting single, "Juicy," became his first hit. (It was also one of the first of many "Remember how great the past was?" hip-hop tracks.)
Despite his prophetic album titles, Biggie tried to stay above the deadly West Coast/East Coast rivalry. Having said that, he and Puffy are portrayed as a bit too angelic in "Notorious;" the excitement ultimately helped sell albums for both camps.
According to the film, the blame for the rivalry lies with Tupac, Suge Knight, and the media. Tupac, the scared aggressor, believed the hype about former friend Biggie, especially after a violent mugging with suspicious connections. Suge, ruthless and quick to violence, pulled the strings. The news, quick to the sexy rap-shooting angle, only brought more attention.
The shootings--the mugging and the murders of Pac and Biggie--are still a complete mystery. "Notorious" wisely skips any speculation, reenforcing the senselessness.
1 comment:
As Biggie, the overgrown kid, Woolard's performance often evokes no less than Tony Soprano.
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