Cadillac Records (2008)

I went to see Cadillac Records when it opened here. It chronicles the rise and fall of Chess Records, legendary Chicago-based record label, and co-founder Leonard Chess' (Adrien Brody) rise and fall right along with it. I say co-founder because Leonard Chess founded the studio with his brother Phil, who is, hilariously, nowhere to be found in the movie.*

Writer-director Darnell Martin's work plays about as fast and loose with the truth as it does with logic. Leonard has this on-going, never-consummated love affair with Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles), and, while I am not disputing the possibility of such an affair in real life, it's so ridiculously drawn on the screen. There's a short sequence where he goes from having sad, workman-like sex with his wife (Emmanuelle Chriqui), to running over to Etta's when she's overdosed, to kissing Etta while she's still coming down, to getting caught, to saying to Muddy Waters (the always fantastic Jeffrey Wright), "What if I told you I have feelings for her?" in the span of about 10 minutes. "What if?" Dude, you should be able to do better than a hypothetical at that point. No sooner has that flared up than it disappears.

That little vignette is exemplary of the problem with most of the plot points, to be honest. Martin consistently brings up wrong doing on the part of Chess, whether it's how he got his start in the record business or how he treated his artists that got him there, but it refuses to engage with him on that level beyond mentioning these things. How are we supposed to feel about that? I like it when movies don't judge their characters (cf Rachel Getting Married), but you have to give everyone a valid point to be able to do it properly. We don't even have the slightest idea how Chess may have felt about the charges laid against him, and I'm not ready to lay that at Brody's feet.

The flip side, of course, is the performances and the singing. I'd never thought I'd say this, but, if hearing Beyoncé sing "All I Could Do Was Cry" doesn't bring a frisson to your spine, you're heartless. Who knew she could sing like that? Who knew she could act like that? All the hurt and resentment James could pack into her voice is right there on screen. Wright shows up to remind us what a brilliant character actor he is, Eamonn Walker is a particularly inspired Howlin' Wolf, and Colombus Short's Little Walter is full of fire. It's Mos Def's Chuck Berry that injects the movie with style and fun. B

*Norman Reedus is credited as "Chess," but he's got, like, one line. If that was supposed to be Phil, maybe someone should have called him that. Oh, no, wait, Shiloh Fernandez is credited as Phil Chess. No, sorry, no. I literally do not remember him in a single scene. Does he have any lines? Also, why is Norman Reedus also credited as Chess?