Product: Cadillac Records [Blu-ray] (2008)
Rating: 4.0
they forgot about the truth--but they do deliver a solid gold gem of a movie
Cadillac Records tells the story of Chess Records, a recording company founded by the two Chess brothers. Chess Record helped make Etta James, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf and so many more artists famous or even living legends; and that's wonderful. The plot moves along at a good pace although this is not the way things happened in real life and that's a shame. For example, there were two Chess brothers but in this film we only see one of them, Leonard Chess. The plot is also a bit complicated since there are several principle actors in this film. Nevertheless, Cadillac Records is a story about music and race relations; it provides a great deal of insight into just how well good music brought about positive change in American society. The cinematography is excellent and the choreography for the crowded fight scenes really shines. The acting is outstanding.The movie itself begins with a brief shot of Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer) who narrates at times to tell the entire story as a flashback. We quickly meet Leonard Chess (Adrian Brody), an ambitious young man who wants to get ahead in this world. Leonard first opens a club in Chicago; but just about the time he meets a few budding artists including Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Little Walter (Columbus Short) and Jimmy Rogers (Kevin Mambo), Leonard's nightclub mysteriously burns down. Leonard takes the insurance money and buys space for a recording studio--and after a few bribes to some disc jockeys he gets his first recordings from these artists onto the airwaves. Their careers take off like soaring jets and Chess Records clearly will be around to stay. Leonard also starts a tradition that if a singer makes a hit record he will reward them with a Cadillac. Over time other budding artists including Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer), Howlin' Wolf (Eamonn Walker) and Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles) become part of the "family" that is Chess Records.It's fascinating to watch the movie; we see how fatherly Leonard Chess is to his team. For example, Chess always makes sure that Muddy Waters has some money to get by long after Muddy's records have stopped selling. Unfortunately, however, we also see Leonard begin to cheat on his wife Revetta (Emmanuelle Chriqui) with Etta James; and Muddy Waters and other musicians sometimes accuse Leonard of taking advantage of them. In addition, these musicians carry enough weapons on them to make me think this is some kind of gangster movie cloaked in the guise of a musical! There's much more action in this movie, too.But the plot is really not the true message of this film. It's particularly important to tell this story because so few people remember who Muddy Waters was; they may not own any of his albums and I myself had never heard of Howlin' Wolf or Willie Dixon. I enjoyed some incredible acting as the movie shows the creative and interpersonal tensions between them that must have built up over years of working together so closely.The DVD has a couple of featurettes about the film and how they made it happen. There are deleted scenes and we get an optional commentary with writer/director Darnell Martin.Cadillac Records may not be the most truthful take on the history of Chess Records; but it packs a punch and it's quite enjoyable. You'll learn a lot about some great musicians, all of whom broke ground in their day. I highly recommend this for music aficionados and musicals in general.