With “Michael” opening in massive fashion this weekend—playing on nearly 4,000 screens in North America and launching in over 80 international markets—you might think we’ve seen a wellspring of music biopics in recent years.
You wouldn’t be wrong.
In the 2020s alone, we’ve had feature films about David Bowie, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, Whitney Houston, Leonard Bernstein, Amy Winehouse, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen-–even the one and only “Weird Al” Yankovic. Over the last 25 years, there have been more than 75 music biopics to date.
Here’s my top five of the 21st century.
5 – “Walk the Line” (2005)
Joaquin Phoenix is a greatly talented actor who can sometimes overwhelm a film with all the attention-getting histrionics – but here, Phoenix sublimates those tendencies in favor of a grounded and richly layered performance as Johnny Cash. Phoenix looks nothing like the legendary Man in Black, but he disappears into the character of the volatile and troubled singer-songwriter, performing his own vocals and doing a stunningly effective job. Equally important to the story and equally impressive: Reese Witherspoon, who also performed her own vocals, in an Oscar-winning turn as June Carter, who resisted falling in love with Cash but eventually followed her heart, even though she knew better. Director James Mangold and the production design team expertly capture the essence of mid-20th century America.
4 –“Get On Up” (2014)
When we remember the late Chadwick Boseman, the first role that comes to mind is his iconic portrayal of T’Challa/Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and understandably so. Still, my favorite Boseman performances come in three biopics: as Jackie Robinson in “42” (2013), as the young Thurgood Marshall in “Marshall” (2017), and as James Brown in “Get On Up” (2014). In an electric and dazzling performance, Boseman somehow meets the challenge of capturing the onstage brilliance and the recording studio savant of arguably the greatest performer the live concert stage has ever seen. Director Tate Taylor employs a variety of techniques that lend a kind of waking dream vibe, mirroring the barely controlled chaos of Brown’s life and his unique creative process. (To its credit, the film doesn’t shy from Brown’s troubled, volatile and at times horrific off-stage behavior.) From the signature “Huh!” to elegant yet frenetic dance moves, Chadwick Boseman personifies the Godfather of Soul.
3 –“Love & Mercy” (2015)
So many biopics – even some of the best – rely on the same beats, from the Present-Day performance to the Challenging Childhood flashback to the Rise to Stardom to the Self-Induced Setback to the Triumphant Comeback. The trippy and melancholic and sometimes beautifully poetic “Love & Mercy” throws that out the window with a split-narrative approach that is well-suited to the damaged genius that was Brian Wilson. In the scenes set in the 1960s, the eclectic and gifted Paul Dano is the perfect choice to encapsulate Wilson’s starry-eyed, nearly childlike gaze at the world, but also his devastating mental health issues. John Cusack steps in for the latter half of the film, and while he looks nothing like Brian Wilson, maybe that’s the point – that by the 1980s, Wilson was nearly an entirely different person than he was in those early days with the Beach Boys.
2 –“Rocketman” (2019)
This is another film that eschews many of the traditional biopic trappings. In keeping with Elton John’s bedazzled, extravagant, outrageous persona, “Rocketman” is a bold, ambitious, colorful, exhilarating jukebox musical. With Taron Egerton performing his own vocals in a virtuoso performance, “Rocketman” earns its R-rating with an honest and unvarnished depiction of Elton’s musical brilliance, and his indulgences with sex, drugs and alcohol. (Unlike “Bohemian Rhapsody,” with its sanitized version of events.) This plays like a funhouse mirror interpretation of John’s prolific and legendary catalog of hits, from “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” to “Your Song” to “Tiny Dancer” to “Bennie and the Jets.” At times the approach leans into the camp factor – and why not, given the subject matter.
1 – “Ray” (2004)
Jamie Foxx’s magnificent and generational portrayal of Ray Charles was a slam-dunk winner for Best Actor, and remains the solid gold standard for biopic performances. (I remember the screening for this film – and before the halfway mark, I was convinced Foxx was a lock for the Academy Award.) Director Taylor Hackford switches from oversaturated visuals to high-contrast looks to harsh tones to reflect different eras, but he wisely sticks to a mostly conventional storytelling format and gets out of the way to let Foxx carry the film. The preternaturally gifted Foxx does a jaw-dropping impersonation of Charles – but the work goes far deeper than pitch-perfect mimicry. Throughout the film, we feel as if we are bearing witness to the life and times and loves and setbacks – and the music – that made Ray Charles one of the most enduring figures in the history of American music.
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