Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James, Little Walter, Chuck Berry. Their names and music may be familiar to some, but it's the stars who followed in the footsteps of these pioneers who were the recipients of the lion's share of fortune and fame. Everyone from Elvis to The Rolling Stones owes a debt to the ground breaking discoveries of Leonard Chess. For this reason alone it's especially gratifying to see the long overdue homage to these original greats provided by this film. Although the movie is a standard biopic in some ways, it uncovers new territory simply by focusing on the neglected stories of some of music's most talented performers.
The amazing Jeffrey Wright stars as Muddy Waters, a poor sharecropper who plays a mean guitar and sings a mean blues song. When he comes to the attention of Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody), a producer for Chess Records on the southside of Chicago, his music begins to be heard by a larger audience. Chess has a knack for uncovering new talent and brings the music of not only Muddy Waters but also James (Beyonce Knowles), Berry (Mos Def), Howlin' Wolf (Eamonn Walker) and Little Walter (Columbus Short) to the public as well as the outstanding songwriting of the great Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer). Along the way there are the usual problems: money (either too much or too little of it), drugs, legal and romantic entanglements, artistic temperament. The constant inspiration for both Chess and the audience is the glorious music that came out of this time and place. The performances are excellent across the board with all actors doing their own singing in a very impressive way. Although it's no surprise that Beyonce can belt out a tune with the best, she shows outstanding skill and courage in taking on such James classics as "At Last" and "All I Could Do Was Cry" and making them work. Mos Def has a lot of fun with Berry and Wright proves to be a good blues singer. Writer/Director Darnell Martin brings vibrancy, authenticity and smokin' entertainment to the screen while giving some of our truly American musical greats their due.
Things to love about this movie: Seeing Jeffrey Wright take center stage in a sexy, full bodied performance; the great music; some pretty cool cadillac cars; Mos Def proving once again that he's an exciting actor in addition to a terrific musician
Things to hate about this movie: Would have liked to see more about the personal life and background of Etta James included in the movie aside from her heroin addiction (and Beyonce seems to have the acting chops to do it)
Pleasant surprises: The movie actually focuses on the musicians instead of the white man who discovered them
Unpleasant surprises: Lovely Gabrielle Union is given a rather thankless role as the hopelessly devoted love of Muddy Waters; some unflattering camera angles on Adrien Brody during romantic scenes
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment