Written and directed by Darnell Martin (I Like it Like That), Cadillac Records chronicles the life of influential Chicago based record company executive Leonard Chess and the singers who recorded for Chess Records. Exploring the musical era from the early 1940’s to the late 1960s, the film examines the creative yet turbulent lives of some of America’s biggest musical legends: Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf Etta James and Chuck Berry.
Slow to begin, Cadillac Records initially plays out like the typical rags to riches stories that have littered the film landscape for countless decades. However, Cadillac is eventually able to distinguish itself from the pack, thanks to the wonderful work of its talented cast and crew.
Adrien Brody (King Kong), stars as Leonard Chess a struggling but determined businessman who crosses paths with a struggling musician named Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright) and decides to try his luck in the record business. Along with Muddy, Chess invites his temperamental band mate Little Walter (Columbus Short) to cut some tracks and before long, Chess has the beginnings of a solid record label. Chess Records is quickly dubbed “Cadillac Records” because almost everyone there eventually owns one. Despite the success of the label, personal problems begin to mount. Muddy, Little Walter and new signee Chuck Berry (Mos Def) are all faced with legal issues that threaten to derail their careers. When Chess signs the volatile yet supremely talented Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles), he finds both his personal and professional life at a crossroads.
While the script for Cadillac Records is occasionally bogged down with insignificant facts and not enough music, the acting is always first rate. Jeffrey Wright has created a portrait of Muddy Waters that is as complex as it is subtle. Waters music was born out of his hard life as a field worker and Wright manages to give Waters the depth that shows his conflicts with his old life versus the new. Meanwhile, as Little Walter, Columbus Short is anything but subtle–frequently if not always drunk, with a penchant for violent behavior, Walter is tough to like. However, Short gives the musician enough dimension and emotional backbone; it’s hard not to have some sympathy for Little Walter.
Beyoncé Knowles is fantastic as Etta James. Though she doesn’t look anything like the singer, she seems to really enjoy playing James; an abrasive, unpredictable personality with incredible pipes. After her sugar-sweet, pitch perfect performance in Dreamgirls, it was nice to see Knowles stop her feet, get angry and chew some scenery. Perhaps because she is a superstar herself, Beyoncé channels James’ pain and inner anger and finds the first role that really helps her lose that “singer-turned-” prefix that previously preceded description of her as an actress.
Finally, as Adrien Brody plays him as likeable as possible. While he’s not above doing whatever it takes to make a buck, he remains sincere. Strangely, Brody plays Chess so straight that his performance comes across as the dullest. The film can’t seem to decide whether Chess is a clever businessman or just an opportunist? By not answering that question, Cadillac Records with an unfinished portrait of its central character. I came away from the film believing a fleshed out portrait of Chess wouldn’t have left me wanting more music so much, if the scenes pertaining to his life were more involving.
While be no means a perfect film, Cadillac Records does an admirable job telling the Chess story. The film offers viewers solid portraits of some of the labels brightest stars and skims the surfaces of their personal demons. The bottom line: as a film about the earliest days of black music, Cadillac Records is a solid portrait but it will likely leave you wanting more. That said, the acting and music make Cadillac Records well worth viewing.
Cadillac Records is presented in 2.35:1 widescreen using the AVC MPEG-4 codec on a dual-layered BD50 disc. It’s a very murky print with drab colors and not much depth. Details and sharpness is top notch, however, bringing some gravity to the transfer. The disc is also free of digital hiccups and intrusive dust and dirt elements. For what it tries to do — be a muddy looking picture based on an era-accurate muddy looking color design — this transfer is commendable.
Audio choices are English, French 5.1 TrueHD Audio with English and French subtitles and English captions for the hearing impaired. This is pretty much a glorified stereo track, albeit with decent ambience. Surround placement is minimal, but well tuned and pristine. Bass effects pop up from time to time, but this seems to be an intentionally subdued track with few aggressive elements gumming up the works. For what it’s trying to do, the track succeeds.
Cadillac Records does include some special features:
Director-writer Darnell Martin contributes a very laidback audio commentary. She fills in the gaps in the storytelling with information missing from the screenplay about the various characters, and she also separates the truth in the film from characters and actions that have been changed for dramatic effect.
“Playing Chess: The Making of Cadillac Records“ is a 26-minute EPK featuring the writer-director Darnell Martin, producer Sofia Sondervan, and stars Adrien Brody, Beyoncé Knowles, Jeffrey Wright, Columbus Short, and Mos Def praising one another’s contributions to the film. (HD)
“Once Upon a Blues: Cadillac Records by Design” allows costume designer Johnetta Boone and production designer Linda Burton to talk about their work on the project, explaining their choices of tones and textures for the movie in a 15 ½-minute featurette. (HD)
There are five deleted scenes which may be watched in one 5-minute grouping or individually. They’re presented in 480i.
The Chess Record Player is a Blu-ray exclusive feature, an interactive feature which allows the viewer to mark favorite songs in the film and then e-mail the completed songlist to friends for sharing.
The disc is BD-Live which at the time of the review process was displaying a succession of Sony trailers for downloading.
