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Last Updated: Jan 15th, 2009 - 09:27:31 |
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| Beyonce Knowles as Etta James in "Cadillac Records." |
“Cadillac Records,” the new movie starring Jeffrey Wright, Adrien Brody and Beyoncé Knowles, offers a rich taste—if not all the facts—of Chicago’s Black music scene of the 1950s and 1960s, which gave birth to popular music that we know today.
Based on the true story of Chess Records, which recorded classic acts such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Etta James, “Cadillac Records” depicts the Southern acoustic roots of the music and the ways that Northern urban Blacks—and Whites who were into “race music”—pushed the sound into electrified rock and roll, rhythm and blues, soul and hip-hop. Fame, money and all the things that money can buy loom large in this narrative as it seems that the co-owner of company, Leonard Chess, as well as his music stars, wanted to drive a Cadillac almost as much as they wanted to make music.
The movie is best enjoyed as a series of fine performances. Wright carries the film in an amazing turn as Muddy Waters, even to the point of allowing us forget that he looks nothing like Waters, a chocolate-colored man with a big, round face and high cheek bones. No doubt, Wright is on a roll, being snagged for roles in big budget productions such as “Quantum of Solace” and artsy fare such as “W” but it is not clear that another actor who looks more the part but is not being given a break—Clifton Powell maybe?—could not have carried the role as well. Eamonn Walker (“Oz,” “Tears of the Sun,”) is superbly cast as the proud and loud Howlin’ Wolf.
Much of the story is split between the life of Waters, who was born and raised in Mississippi, and Leonard Chess (Brody), an enterprising immigrant from Poland who recognized the lucrative possibilities of black music. Pairing their stories, director and writer Darnell Martin tells the story of how starkly different opportunities were available to Blacks and Whites. The story goes on to explain how so many Black musicians were cheated out of royalties and other profits by company owners, even a benevolent White father figure like Chess (who, in real life, operated the company with his brother Phil).
But, back to the performances: They come rolling in, in an often surprising way: Columbus Short (“Stomp the Yard”) as the mercurial harmonica genius Little Walter; Mos Def as a bouncy, idiosyncratic Chuck Berry; Cedric the Entertainer as songwriter Willie Dixon and Beyoncé Knowles as Etta James. Knowles does an able job of enlarging her modern post-soul vocals to fit the brassier sound of James, who will be forever known as the first African American vocalist to “crossover” to White radio with hits, including “At Last” and “Sunday Kind of Love.” Knowles even reportedly put on 15 pounds to play the rounded James, who is depicted as another tragic mulatto and, though it seems to contradict fact, as Leonard Chess’ lover.
Each performance is a flash in the Black musical storm of the times, even as these artists saw their songs, compositions, melodies and beats increasingly covered by White artists such as the Beach Boys and Elvis Pressley, who was suddenly crowned the “King of Rock ‘n’ ’Roll.”
“Cadillac Records” reveals the tragedies and triumphs of music’s many behind-the-scenes dramas, as well as the swirl of liquor, drugs and sex. Though it is not a documentary delivery of fact, it does deliver the power of voice and song; this is still a movie about music that rocked the world.
This review also appeared on Tom Joyner's BlackAmericaWeb.com,/i>
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