![]() ![]() There was always blues in the US in the 20th century, but it grew steadily, out of sorrow and bad days and nights and hate and love gone bad or good for African Americans. ![]() The best thing about Cadillac Records, the thing that will have me go back and watch it again more than anything, is that it captures what it was like to be around the one of the significant blues explosions in America. There's an attitude to a kind of music, whether it's punk or jazz or psychedelic rock or even in "wtf" mode in I'm Not There. Sometimes all we can hope for is that they get the mood right, and even that isn't attained some years back the wildly over-praised Ray had strong performances but, to me, didn't really capture that feel of what it was like to be in the midst of something really spectacular- we only saw it being great for Ray Charles (not that his music didn't help the movie, somewhat besides the point). The best bio-pics on musicians tend to get it just about right (Bird, Sid & Nancy, The Doors, Walk the Line) even if the films aren't great or, even worse, have those tired old conventions of real-life people fit in tidy fashion for a 2-hour storyline. It's hard to get a feel for a specific time and period in movies let alone an actual mood of a particular music. For all that, "Cadillac Records" is fun and it makes you want to learn more about an important cultural moment in American history. Some accused him of paternalism curious viewers are advised to pick up Nadine Cohodas' book "Spinning Blues into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records." Also, "Cadillac Records" can't avoid the clichés inherent in music biopics: the innocent character is introduced to drugs for the first time, and is ruined by them the self destructiveness of brilliant people, the exhilarating, brutal, rags-to-riches-to-obscurity trajectory of show biz careers. There is the story that Chess put Muddy Waters to work painting his ceiling. So much more could and should have been said about Chess the man and his motivations, and the complex relationship he had with his singers. ![]() ![]() Perhaps much backstory was cut out? A shame, because Adrien Brody, a brilliant and compelling actor, is not given enough to do. "Cadillac Records" feels a bit rushed, and not as deep and probing as it could have been. Beyonce Knowles is very beautiful and pays worthy tribute to Etta James, the singer she plays. Walker electrifies the screen with his every morsel of screen time I wish that after they'd finished "Cadillac Records," they had just kept the sets up and kept the cameras running and began a biography of Howlin' Wolf with Walker in the lead. Eamonn Walker is terrific, and appropriately intimidating, as Howlin' Wolf. Mos Def is a charming Chuck Berry he really communicates the charisma that Berry exuded to his adoring female fans. Jeffrey Wright is quietly compelling as Muddy Waters. Flashy glimpses into the glamorous styles of the 1950s and 60s include loving looks at the many Cadillacs Chess gives as gifts to his star performers. Their music is great and is played all but non-stop on the soundtrack, which is a very good thing. These artists' work had huge impact on popular music the Rolling Stones are shown on a pilgrimage to Chess Studio. In the 1950s, Leonard Chess, a Polish-born Jew in Chicago, along with his brother Phil (not seen in this film) produced "race" records by African American blues and rock and roll legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry and Etta James. "Cadillac Records" is a fun, fast, flashy introduction to the world of Chess Records. ![]()
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