Product: Cadillac Records [Blu-ray] (2008)
Rating: 3.0
Wonderful as FICTION
I love Chess records. As so many have said, Chess along with Sun and Atlantic constitute the Holy Trinity of independent labels, and I've been a devotee of Mud, Wolf, Sonny Boy, Walter, and Jimmy since I was a teenager. I know their music backwards and forwards, and, thanks to the YouTube age, I've seen loads of interviews and performances featuring these legends.That's why I can say this film is extremely entertaining, recreates the music very well, and might be a good intro to this part of the musical world for the uninitiated, but if you want to know anything about Chess records other than the fact that it was based in Chicago and featured the aforementioned artists, go read a book. This film is a tall tale, a slightly more realistic version of what "I'm Not There" was for Bob Dylan.I'm not going to spend time repeating the same complaints: the conspicuous absence of Phil Chess, the semi-whitewashing of Chess's handling of royalties, the blatant fictional affair between Leonard Chess and Etta James, the exaggerated issues with James's father, etc. Instead, I'd like to talk about what most critics and reviewers laud: the performances. Jeffrey Wright and Beyonce Knowles do FANTASTICALLY as characters who happen to be named Muddy Waters and Etta James, but not as recreations of the historical Muddy Waters and Etta James. I mean, since when did Muddy Waters mumble? I've seen I don't know how many interviews with him, and he spoke clearly and articulately; he didn't grunt monosyllabically. As for Beyonce, I was pleasantly surprised by her performance, considering the terrible ones she's turned out in the past ("Goldmember," anyone?), but still, she's not Etta James. She did the songs beautifully, but she did them as Beyonce. If a newbie to the world of music like Joaquin Phoenix can approximate Johnny Cash so well, I would have expected a veteran singer like Beyonce to pull off an uncanny impersonation. Perhaps her ego got in the way: after all, she doesn't sell records by being an Etta James impersonator, and if a song is going on a major soundtrack, I'm sure she wants it to be a Beyonce song through and through.One major gripe I had with this movie is the age issues: I mean, the events in this movie cover about 26 years (from 1941 till 1967), yet NOBODY SEEMS TO AGE. Muddy looks a bit older shortly after he arrives in Chicago and grows his moustache and pompadour, but then time seems to stand still for him, and Phil Chess apparently doesn't age a day, which makes it hard to believe he had a heart attack. Also, when Alan Lomax came to record Muddy Waters in 1941 in the early '40s he was not yet 30 years old--2 years younger than Muddy himself--yet in the film he looks almost 50. This might seem like nitpicking, but I think things like this are laziness on Hollywood's part, which is becoming endemic these days.This is not a poorly made film. I'm usually quite critical of biopics because I think this genre is being done to death these days, but I have to say this film does avoid a lot of the cliches. I'm not against fictionalization per se; I agree that if a film told a story straight, it would be boring and confusing. However, I think there's a limit. In the end, it just all depends on what you want. If you want a film about fictional characters that slightly resemble historical personalities with excellent music, you will probably enjoy it. If, however, like me the Chess catalogue means a lot to you, you might find a lot in this movie to irritate you.