Yup! It appears there will, in fact, be a biopic released based on the life of Motown's king, Marvin Gaye--after what must seem like decades of deliberation over who will play the highly coveted lead role, that is. The aptly named biopic Sexual Healing will star Jessie L. Martin of Law & Order fame and is slated to document the last 4 or 5 years of the tortured soul legend's life. Those familiar with Marvin's incredibly successful career are doubtless also aware of his immensely troubled personal life and this recently released teaser of the film reflects that duality, soaked in anguish and riddled with the somber inevitability of the demise of a titan in the artform.
The man who brought us the most relevant social commentary of an era in What's Going On? coined casual sexuality on Let's Get It On and gave the world the ultimate break-up album in Here, My Dear was indeed a troubled man (go figure.) His life was plagued by all of the ills one could expect to endure when considered a sexual icon, who is highly dependent on cocaine and alcohol and being the former husband of your boss' sister (Marvin was married to Berry Gordy's sister Anna for 13 years.) An already battered insecure man, Gaye was decimated by years of drug abuse and finally exiled by his label; forced to pursue the afterlight of his career in Europe. This is precisely where Sexual Healing picks up, the point where Marvin begins scraping his life back together with whatever's left of himself, his loved ones and his squandered fortune--to record one of his greatest albums, the classic Midnight Love. Take a gander at teaser--by turns chilling and inspiring--of Marvin's highly anticipated biopic below.
