Darnell Martin's Cadillac Records

[caitlen]

Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Cadillac Records

I'm not going to pretend that Darnell Martin's Cadillac Records has much to do with the actual history of Chess Records, but this rollicking story of the rise of blues icons Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Little Walter (Columbus Short), and Etta James (Beyonce Knowles) crackles with the energy and unadorned emotion of their music. Wright is a marvel; he has long been at the top of my list of actors guaranteed to win an Oscar someday. Martin's script doesn't spend much time on the bluesman-as-tomcat cliches. I loved the complicated feeling of Muddy's relationship with his wife Geneva (Gabrielle Union, one of my biggest film crushes and finally in a good role) and the growing realization that he isn't getting his financial due from label founder Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody).

The conception of Leonard Chess is the movie's biggest problem. Chess was willing to go to extremes to get Muddy's music played in the early days; he pays off a Mississippi DJ (Vincent D'Onofrio) to break the first Chess single on Southern radio. Yet there's no question that Chess took advantage of his talent, fudging the distinction between royalties and personal loans and habitually buying off the musicians with new cars. Martin can't quite drop the hammer on him though; as the
'60s begin to get ugly Chess is last seen getting mugged in an alley and then dying of a heart attack as he leaves his office for the last time. Brody does manage to work up some erotic heat in his big scene with Knowles, who does the best work of her career here and finds the scared young woman under James's badass exterior. The rich cast also includes a witty Mos Def as Chuck Berry. I absolutely believed this was the same man who blows up at fellow musicians in the Hail,Hail, Rock'n'Roll documentary. Eamonn Walker (who appears to be the size of an NFL lineman) left me wanting more in his too-brief role as Howlin' Wolf. Cadillac Records could have used a stronger narrative focus; Chess seems too much like a bad business man as opposed to an opportunist. But it is a needed film about a major part of our musical history - let's hope that it inspires some leaner and meaner efforts in the same vein.

crowesmostlymovies.blogspot.com/2008/12/cadillac-records.html

[caitlen]

Im not surprised he was in this film, after Vincent liking "blues" music and "Muddy Waters"

[annabelleleigh]

I stepped out on the Super Bowl tonight and saw "Cadillac Records." Has anyone else seen it?

It was in a suburban multiplex where seats are $2 all the time. Maybe 10 other people in the theater.

I pretty much agree with the review posted at the top of this thread -- certain liberties taken with the Chess Records story, and the film did look like it was made for under $5 million. I never quite bought the portrait of Leonard Chess, nor Adrian Brody in the role. Nevertheless I enjoyed it. Some fine performances from the actors playing Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, and especially Little Walter. Beyonce as Etta James was -- again, as in "Dream Girls" -- a revelation.

One surprise: While Eric Bogosian was billed in the opening credits, he was in just two brief scenes, each with two or three short lines. (He plays Alan Freed, the disc jockey who supposedly coined the phrase "rock 'n roll.") There was no performance to speak of; perhaps there wasn't enough to work with (or perhaps his part was cut down to nothing in the editing room.)

On the other hand, Vincent D'Onofrio had two scenes, both also brief, as the sleazy-slob, small time Southern deejay Chess bribes first to put Muddy Waters on the radio. D'Onofrio was not only unbilled in the open but also uncredited in the close. Yet he pulled a real character out of his few lines, with inflection and physical bits -- dangling cigarette, sly eyes, hands palming first a stack of 45s then the two bills Chess throws down before him. He got every bit of juice out of this cameo.

And BTW I praise VDO here as one who's not a big fan of much of VDO's film work.

I recommend "Cadillac Records" -- especially if you can see it for $2.

AL

[DonnaJo]

Alas...this film came & went in "record" time in my area. It isn't playing anymore on Long Island. I wonder how long it will take to go to DVD?

Thanks for the review, AL. I have to hand it to VDO - he does make an impact whenever he appears in a film, even the small roles. I wonder why the film wasn't popular? A small budget shouldn't matter.

[annabelleleigh]

It's not that the film is "unpopular" DJ -- it simply didn't get broad theatrical distribution in the U.S. That's a continuing, contentious issue. About five years ago a group of indie production companies -- some having personnel with notable film credits -- jointly sued the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America, the theater owners) for "restraint of trade" because they couldn't get their films booked. The suit was unsuccessful.

In the mid-size and smaller U.S. cities and towns people won't have any opportunity to see "Cadillac Records" in a theater. Only because of Beyonce's participation (she was also an executive producer) can I say confidently that the film will have a DVD release. Many indie films don't get that either -- thus the advent of Internet self-distribution (which, unfortunately, has no monetary rewards.)

However, among the idie community itself, "Cadillac Records" has cache. I believe it has been nominated for one or two Independent Spirit Awards this year -- which may make it more likely to show up sometime fairly soon on the IFC or Sundance cable channels.

AL

P.S., In the absence of other information I'll assume that my multiplex was sparsely filled because of the Super Bowl. My friends and I went out to eat afterward, at a usually popular restaurant, and we were one of two parties seated in the dining room.

Edit: Mea culpa. No Spirit Award nominations. Must have confused that with the NAACP Image Awards.

[outerbankschick]

Soon as it comes out on DVD, I'll buy it. I wanted to see it, but its run was too short around here. I love these types of movies and sometimes I enjoy them more for the music than anything else, but I'm interested to see how this story is told.

I've watched What's Love Got To Do With It about a hundred times because not only do I find Tina Turner's story compelling, but Lawrence Fishburne and Angela Bassett are stunning in their portrayals of Ike and Tina.

[DonnaJo]

This film is now airing on the STARZ channel, and I was able to DVR it.

It was pretty good. I agree with Annabelle that VDO did an incredible job with the two puny scenes he had. He sure looked the part of the fat, unkempt, corrupt Southern DJ. I hope he didn't deliberately gain weight for role, since it did little for his film career.