Susan Granger’s review of “Cadillac Records” (Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Earlier this year, Jerry Zaks’ “Who Do You Love” delved into the controversial character of Leonard Chess, founder of Chess Records. Now Darnell Martin integrates Chess’s saga with that of various musicians, including Muddy Waters and Etta James, in a celebration of the pioneering blues recording label of the ’50s and ’60s. Based at 2120 South Michigan Avenue in South Chicago, scrappy, ambitious, Polish-born Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) and his brother Phil (whose character is absent from the film) took over Aristocrat Records and launched Chess Records in 1947 with Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright) as their first star. Muddy serves as the tale’s troubled conscience, as Chess attracts additional talent: Chuck Berry (Mos Def), Etta James (Beyonce Knowles),Howlin Wolf (Eamonn Walker), Little Walter (Columbus Short) and Wille Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer), who narrates the story in a rambling, disjointed flashback, “based on a true story.” Writer/director Darnell Martin has obviously done meticulous research, perhaps delving into more details than we need to know, awkwardly skipping from one anecdotal scene to another with poor pacing, scant character development and an over-abundance of clichés, particularly about the racial barriers that were being broken. As if to compensate for these deficiencies, the cast delivers memorable performances, particularly Jeffrey Wright (familiar from “Quantum of Solace” and “W”), Mos Def, Eamonn Walker and Beyonce Knowles, who is not only far better than she was in “Dreamgirls” but also positions herself at the starting gate if an Etta James biopic is ever made. Noting that the title comes from untrustworthy Chess’s penchant for gifting each of his stars with a new Cadillac, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Cadillac Records” is a superficial yet aurally satisfying 6. Better yet – buy the R&B soundtrack.
