Cadillac Records
Starring: Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Cedric the Entertainer, Beyonce Knowles, Mos Def, Gabrielle Union
Directed by Darnell Martin
Rated R
If you go into the theater expecting Cadillac Records to be a tale of gifted musicians coming from modest backgrounds to hit it big in the big city, find that magic sound, make tons of money, get all the women, endure emotional lows involving death, hiding sexual affairs from wives, financial trouble, racial prejudice and alcohol and substance abuse?you’d be about right.
Not that that’s a bad storyline; many Americans, musicians and rock ’n’ roll fans will be able to watch this and enjoy it, but take Ray, Walk the Line, The Doors and/or Walk Hard, substitute a different group of musicians and you get the idea. Evidently the common themes do occur in many of these musician superstars’ lives, but the films get a little formulaic.
This time the story follows Chicago-based Chess Records, a facilitator to the creativity of Muddy Waters, Memphis Slim, Chuck Berry, Etta James, Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon and other legends, and its launch of colored musicians into international superstardom.
From the opening, this film makes you want a Caddy, and contains some nice vintage Cadillacs. In this time of “negro clubs” and “race music,” it didn’t matter what color you were if you drove a Cadillac.
Though director Martin has been criticized for being somewhat loose with the facts, Mos Def was entertaining as Chuck Berry, but the good role was a brief one. The most powerful and memorable part of the film, however, was Beyonce’s voice, giving the audience goose bumps belting out Etta James’ tunes.
And pointing out that a Chuck Berry concert could do more for race relations than most politicians, activists, community and religious leaders ever could is a testament to music’s purity and ability to bring out a positive element of society.
This film gets an “average” rating based only on the virtue of the subject matter covered, plus the talents of the musicians playing in the film. It leaves the watcher wanting a Cadillac and to listen to the classics of the Chess recording family; at least the picture encourages good taste in cars and music.
