![]() ![]() Even when he wins us over with his soulful renditions, Wright's giving us glimpses into the troubled soul of the man we want to like, but don't always feel comfortable doing so. As an audience, we seldom know what to expect from Wright because of the richness he brings to his performances, and this is no exception. ![]() Like so many of Wright's previous roles, he constructs this character from the ground up. His Muddy Waters is quite complex, at times compassionate and warm while displaying many instances of a repressed dark side that creeps into his personality at any given moment. She shows excellent range in a role that feels underwritten, but never underperformed.Īs good as Brody is as Chess, playing a man trying to hold his clients together even as they begin to tear themselves apart, it is Wright who dissolves into his character flawlessly. Beyonce Knowles also lends a strong performance as singer Etta James, once again solidifying Knowles as a successful crossover artist. Performances of particular merit go to Columbus Short as Little Walter, a harmonica player who develops an addiction to liquor and heroin after scoring a number one record, and Mos Def as Chuck Berry, who was essentially Elvis Presley before Elvis Presley. Mainly revolving around the relationship between Chess and Waters, Cadillac Records does an excellent job of integrating numerous supporting characters into the mix and allowing the narrative focus to shift to whoever happens to be the most successful, or interesting, musician of the time period. But it's all for the sake of entertainment value, and that is something Cadillac Records unquestionably possesses, thanks to a stellar cast. Characters are underdeveloped and relationships are summed up too quickly while the screenplay offers too many rounds of repetitive themes and predictable character arcs. ![]() The film cheats quite a bit during its brisk 109 minute running time. Scraping by on his wits and a bit of bribe money, Chess gets Waters' music played and begins to construct a mini-empire of African American musicians that would take the nation by storm well into the 1960s. Despite a mediocre start that swiftly introduces us to impoverished characters quickly risen to fame in the 1950s music industry, Cadillac Records pulls itself together once it establishes what it is and who it is about: important people that many will know by name, but know very little about.Ĭadillac Records is based on the true story of how Len Chess (Adrien Brody) managed to put together a very successful record label after befriending the hugely talented, but extremely green, blues singer Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright) and signing him to a record contract. ![]()
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