Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in Antoine Fuqua’s ‘Michael’. Photograph: Courtesy of Lionsgate
Action-man Antoine Fuqua trades gunfire for groove in the vivid biopic Michael.
While no stranger to sensitive characters on celluloid, but best known for vigilante justice thrillers like The Equalizer, the American director’s take on the late King of Pop steps away from fistfights and gun battles.
Instead, the force runs deep in the veins of Joe Jackson, the tyrannical father played by Colman Domingo (Rustin, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom). His tense performance tightens the screws of suspense as he shapes his sons into The Jackson 5.
One boy’s star shines brighter than the rest, but at a cost. As Bart Simpson sang, “You’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.” Father’s belt writes memory in pain; harsh discipline for the mirthful Michael who carries no malice.
In one scene, Joe claims his boys know nothing about hard work, so he makes them work harder. All day they sing and dance. To Joe, school comes second. He wants them to grow up fast, to become superstars who will drag his ass out of poverty.
The angel in Michael’s life is his mother, Katherine, warmly portrayed by veteran of Black cinema Nia Long (Boyz n the Hood, Friday), while young Michael is warmly portrayed by Juliano Valdi in his first feature film.
Fast forward, a record deal opens new doors, and Michael—now played by Jaafar Jackson, the nephew of the real Michael—quickly rises, cutting records and seizing stages.
Joe soon lives in a mansion with his boys and giraffes and snakes and chimps, smokes Cubans and negs world tours with Don King.
Jaafar Jackson once dreamed of becoming a professional golfer, but fate—and—Fuqua—led him to acting. In his first feature, he boldly steps into his uncle’s iconic shoes, masters the moonwalk and shapes a high-pitched voice, though the original recordings remain in the soundtrack.
It’s wonderful.
Fuqua’s Michael becomes a chance to experience a Michael Jackson gig on a giant screen with booming sound and all the whistles.
At the Tennispalatsi iSense screening for critics, the film pulled you straight into the front row of an MJ concert.
I wonder how it will feel when those hundreds of seats fill … when the room erupts in applause … when you feel the collective thrill of the moonwalk … when the theater transforms into the Olympic Stadium. (MJ drew 87,000 fans across two Helsinki concerts on August 24 and 26, 1997. They were his first and last performances in Finland.)
Fuqua, working with screenwriter John Logan (Gladiator, Skyfall), leaves out the tabloid storm, choosing clarity over the noise, and the result is a bright, heartfelt portrait that cuts through the clutter and lets Michael live again.
