Notorious tells the story of Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G./Biggie Smalls/Big Poppa, the multi-nicknamed Brooklyn rapper who rose to fame in the mid-1990s and was murdered in 1997 at the age of 24. His killer(s) remain at large but the focus of this film is not to examine his mysterious death but rather explain his eventful life; a life that included time as a drug dealer and time behind bars before his eventual rise to multi-platinum rap icon. Though I’ve never been a huge fan of rap, Notorious managed to hold my interest as well as Ray or Walk the Line did in the past.
Raised by his single mom Voletta (Angela Bassett) in Bed-Stuy, young Christopher (played by Biggie’s own son Christopher Jordan Wallace) is a chubby, bespectacled nerd, a sweet momma’s boy who loves to jot down song lyrics in his notebook. It5’s the height of the crack epidemic and as hard as his mother tries to keep him on the stoop, Christopher sees selling drugs as a way to make lots of quick money and gain respect in his rough and tumble neighborhood. By the time he’s in his late teens (now played by newcomer Jamal Woolard), he’s already dropped out of school.
By 1990, at age 17, he’s making serious money selling crack. (He keeps his lifestyle hidden from his mom by not changing into his bling and expensive sneakers until after he leaves the house.) He’s known for his skill at improvising raps, but it’s not where his focus is. As he puts it, “Drug dealing was like my wife. Rapping was just some girl on the side.” However, one day he finally gets caught dealing drugs and is sent to prison.
After two years in prison, Chris decides he needs to dedicate himself to becoming a rapper. A solid lyricist and natural storyteller, Chris adopts the stage name Notorious B.I.G. (as well as Biggie Smalls and Big Poppa) and becomes a popular m ix tape artist. It’s when he is introduced to young hip hop producer Sean “Puffy” Combs (Derek Luke) that Biggie begins his rapid rise to stardom. Blown away by his talent, Puffy demands that Biggie get out of the drug business for good and get into the studio. From there, Biggie is sucked into the vacuum of fame. Already the father of a daughter with his high school sweetheart Jan (Julia Pace Mitchell), Biggie takes up with the rapper Lil Kim (Naturi Naughton), then cheats on her with Faith Evans (Antonique Smith), whom he marries impulsively, which resulted in a lot of cheating on his side and the birth of their son, Christopher Jordan Wallace just months before Biggie was murdered.
The film, written by Reggie Rock Bythewood (Get on the Bus) and Cheo Hodari Coker, contends that the infamous East Coast/West Coast rap rivalry is largely traceable to a feud that developed between Biggie and Tupac Shakur (Anthony Mackie) after the latter was non-fatally shot outside a recording studio where Biggie happened to be at the time. The film tells us that Tupac held Biggie responsible for the shooting, though there was never any evidence to support that claim. Whatever the complexities of the feud, I couldn’t help but feel like the whole thing might have been resolved with a phone call or two. Whatever the motive behind Biggie’s death, it’s hard not to see it as a tremendous loss. After making a slew of bad choices, it seems as though Biggie was ready to settle down a bit, enjoy his career and spend time with his family. He seemed to want to deliver a more positive message through his music but he was never given the chance.
Like other successful biopics, Notorious avoids the temptation to sugarcoat Biggie’s life and instead allows the viewer to understand him as a person flaws and all. While showing his career highlights, Biggie’s shortcomings are on display for the world to see. I found this all the more refreshing because Sean Combs and Biggie’s mother are among the film’s producers.
Director George Tillman Jr. (Soul Food, Barbershop) deserves credit for his fine work behind the scenes but Notorious wouldn’t be the great film it is, if the lead role had been miscast. Jamal Woolard, who raps under the name “Gravy” (he is even featured on the song “Untouchable” by Tupac Shakur on the Pac’s Life album) had never acted before; though you’d never know it from his performance here. Besides looking a lot like Biggie, he commands your attention from the moment he steps on the screen. For a first time actor, Woolard does a great job of showing the many sides of Biggie; ambitious, earnest, thoughtless, momma’s boy, mature, selfish compassionate and weak.
Notorious succeeds in making you care about its subject. If you were already a Biggie fan, you’ll likely get the urge to crank up a few of his singles. Even if rap isn’t your thing, you may come away with a new appreciation for the genre and Christopher Wallace’s unforgettable contributions.
Notorious is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen using the AVC MPEG-4 codec on a dual-layered BD50 disc. Notorious is very vibrant, with lively colors, spot-on fleshtones and perfect black levels. This is a very detailed, textured print, layered with splashy imagery and fantastic lighting. The print is free of dust and dirt specks as well. Detail is very sharp, with good depth and solid shadow delineation. All and all, this is a gorgeous transfer.
Audio choices are English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio with Spanish and French subtitles and English captions for the hearing impaired. This lossless 5.1 mix boasts a sharp sound design; thumping low-end and crisp, clean dialogue. A few scenes, like the rap sequences, sound a bit crowded with the surround elements not as full as they could be, but this mix is still satisfactorily aggressive.
This two-disc Blu-ray set has a solid set of special features:
• Theatrical and Extended Cut – The “Extended Cut” of the film runs about six minutes longer than the theatrical version.
• Commentary with the film crew – There are two commentaries featured on the theatrical version only. The first features the director George Tillman Jr., co-screenwriter Reggie Rock Bythewood, co-screenwriter Cheo Hodari Coker and editor Dirk Westervelt. The first track is pretty standard stuff; the group discusses things like screenplay and on-set challenges.
• Commentary with Biggie’s Mom and his crew – producer/Biggie’s mom Voletta Wallace, producer/Biggie’s Co-manager Wayne Barrow and producer/Biggie’s Co-manager Mark Pitts discuss how much they cherish Biggie. If commentaries are your thing, this is definitely the one to listen to.
• The Making of Notorious (27 minutes, HD) – A fairly typical “making of,” this features interviews with cast and crew. Though I couldn’t help but notice Biggie’s mom always refers to her son as “Christopher.”
• The Lyrics of Biggie Smalls (9 minutes, HD) – We take a look at Biggie’s lyrics with a cadre of friends, associates and journalists.
• Casting the Film (9 minutes, HD) – An interesting look at the challenges of casting the life story of someone who died just ten years ago. The fact that most of the major players other than Biggie are still alive, created some interesting situations.
• Biggie Boot Camp (7 minutes, HD) – Director George Tillman and others discuss how they prepared Jamal Woolard and the other actors for their demanding roles.
• Anatomy of a B.I.G. Performance (5 minutes, HD) – A look at the stage presence of Biggie.
• Party and Bulls**t (4 minutes, HD) – An archival video of one of Biggie’s performances.
• The B.I.G. Three-Sixty (HD) – Essentially a 360 photograph of the area where Biggie was shot. Using your remote, you can explore different elements about that night, while listening to comments from the cast and crew.
• Deleted Scenes (12 minutes, HD) – Nine deleted scenes and one extended scene.
• Digital Copy (SD) – For transfer to computers and portable media players.
• BD-Exclusive: Life After Death Bonusview Track – Another making-of feature containing some behind-the-scenes footage as well as interviews with cast and crew; accessible via the theatrical cut.
• BD-Live: The Music – Also accessible via the theatrical cut is this feature that allows you to share playlists with friends.
