CADILLAC RECORDS (2008)
Directed by Darnell Martin
CAST:
Adrien Brody … Leonard Chess
Jeffrey Wright … Muddy Waters
Gabrielle Union … Geneva Wade
Columbus Short … Little Walter
Cedric the Entertainer … Willie Dixon
Emmanuelle Chriqui … Revetta Chess
Eamonn Walker … Howlin’ Wolf
Mos Def … Chuck Berry
Beyoncé Knowles … Etta James
Cadillac Records is a biopic that chronicles the career of Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) and his record label, Chess Records. It features Chess’ talent Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf, Chuck Berry and Etta James. Overall, I think it’s a good film. I say “good” because despite being enjoyable, it didn’t knock my socks off like I thought it would. It had some brilliant performances but I felt the pacing was a bit uneven. I’m not a big fan of music oriented films (the only other one I’ve seen is the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line) so maybe I’m not the best judge of pacing for this specific genre but I felt it was a little slow at some parts especially when Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles) was singing. I also have a problem with the film’s historical accuracy but I’ll get to that later.
Jeffrey Wright (Muddy Waters) and Mos Def (Chuck Berry) gave brilliant performances. I knew Wright was going to deliver but I was a bit surprised with how great Mos Def played Chuck Berry. Def was good in Be Kind Rewind but being able to play real-life people takes genuine acting chops and he certainly delivered. Adrien Brody, Columbus Short (Little Walter) and Beyoncé Knowles (Etta James) were good too but they didn’t blow me away. Knowles has a really good dramatic scene (it involves drugs) where you could tell she was giving everything she had but I still cannot take her seriously as an actress. I refuse to see Dreamgirls (not my cup of tea) but I’ve seen Austin Powers in Goldmember and the travesty that is The Pink Panther (2006) and I’ve come to the conclusion that Knowles is no Barbra Streisand. She’s a better actress than Madonna though which is a real shame because Madonna has actually been cast in a Bond film. The last actor that I need to mention is Eamonn Walker. I had never heard of him before either but his portrayal of Howlin’ Wolf was awesome. He didn’t have a big part but you could feel his presence every time he was on screen.
Other than Wright and Def’s phenomenal performances, what really stuck with me after I left the theater was how the musicians featured in the film paved the way for rock and roll. I personally am a huge fan of classic rock and my dad has always told me that the music I love evolved from the blues. I never truly understood what “evolving from the blues” meant until I saw this film. Right now my iPod doesn’t contain many blues songs but after seeing this film I’ve been inspired to check out songs by Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry. Did you know Chuck Berry threatened to sue The Beach Boys over copyright infringement involving their hit, “Surfin’ USA,” unless they credit him as the song’s composer? Did you know The Rolling Stones named their band after Muddy Water’s song, “Rollin Stone”? These are just some examples of the multitude of fascinating information I gleaned from the film.
My biggest gripe about the movie is that it’s not 100% historically accurate. The movie begins with the phrase “Based on a true story” and that’s true but I would like to emphasize the word “based.” Like many directors that helm biopics, director Darnell Martin used her creative license in many scenes throughout the film. I’m trying to avoid spoilers in this review but there were a few scenes in the movie that I researched to see if they actually played out that way in real life. The scenes I looked up either never happened or played out differently. For example, we see The Rolling Stones meet Muddy Waters before Elvis Presley even hits scene! Now it’s totally understandable that Martin wanted to show certain events in a visual appealing way but I believe biopics should strive for the utmost accuracy. Last time I checked, a film with a lack of historical accuracy was called “fiction.”
Despite its flaws, I’m glad that I saw Cadillac Records because I walked out of the theater enlightened and that’s a rare feeling for me after coming out of the cineplex. Most of the movies I see are made for the sole purpose of entertainment but Cadillac Records has two purposes: (1) Teach the audience about this important period in American history and (2) Entertain the audience. It succeeds on both counts.
Grade: B+
