‘Get Down’ into rap’s roots
Netflix series traces the birth of hip hop
The Get Down is very Baz Luhrmann, more (and then) less. And in this case, less is more. Those familiar with this Australian auteur’s work from such films as Moulin Rouge!, The
Great Gatsby and Romeo + Juliet will no doubt recognize his touch in Netflix’s The Get Down (Friday,
out of four): the wild flourishes, the unnatural flashes of color, the often clashing styles and tones. But you’ll also spot his enthusiasm, both for his subject and for his ability to tell a visually compelling story, a passion that earned him a loyal fan base.
In the first episode of this series, Luhrmann’s excesses threaten to overwhelm the plot and the screen. But while things never exactly calm down in The Get Down, which releases the first six of its 12-episode season Friday, it does settle down — and the appeal of its mostly young cast and musicdriven story steps up. Set in the 1970s Bronx, The Get Down is a fictionalized account of the birth of hip-hop, as told through the eyes of a group of African-American and Latino teens. As with most Luhrmann films, it’s an odd mix of other films, from
Singin’ in the Rain and West Side Story to Super Fly and just about any movie you can name where Judy and Mickey decide to put on a show. And yet, thanks to the involvement of some true hip-hop pioneers including Grandmaster Flash and musical historian Nelson George, the project is filled with authenticity and affection.
What they’ve promised is a joyous celebration of the era’s music: hip-hop, of course, but also disco and punk. And while the story is not without its grim elements — crime, drugs, gangs and pervasive poverty — it’s lifted and energized by the delight the main characters take in singing, dancing and creating.
You can take delight in the young actors, starting with Justice Smith as Ezekiel, an orphan expressing his pain through poet- ry, and Herizen Guardiola as Mylene, a church singer who wants to be a disco star, to the horror of her strict preacher father (Giancarlo Esposito). Ezekiel is born to be a lyricist, but he doesn’t know that until he runs afoul of graffiti hero Shaolin Fantastic (Shameik Moore), who yearns to be a DJ.
These three kids with a dream are off on a wild adventure, where it’s sometimes too easy to see the next beat coming. Still, if the story has been told before, it’s seldom been told about this group of people, and has never been told in precisely this way.
This is myth in the making, laced with magic and martial arts and who knows what else. Some will grow bored with the style when the substance falters, but others are likely to be enchanted — particularly those who feel it’s time hip-hop finally got its own cinematic celebration.
If that’s what you want, get down on it.