Official Movie Website Theatrical Release 12/05/08 Home Video 03/10/09 MPAA Rating Rated R for pervasive language and some sexuality. Running Time 1 hour 48 minutes Genre Drama Director Darnell Martin Writer Darnell Martin Cast Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyonce Knowles, Gabrielle Union, Columbus Short, Cedric the Entertainer, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Eamonn Walker, Mos Def Studio Sony Pictures |
CADILLAC RECORDS (2008)
SYNOPSIS
Cadilac Records chronicles the rise of Chess Records
and its recording artists. In this tale of sex, violence,
race and rock and roll in Chicago of the 1950s and 60s,
the film follows the exciting but turbulent lives of some
of America's greatest musical legends.
The story of how the blues became popular and gave
birth to rock and roll begins at a dingy bar on the rough
South Side of Chicago in 1947, where an ambitious
young Polish emigre, bar owner Leonard Chess
(Academy Award-winner ADRIEN BRODY), hires a
talented but undisciplined blues combo that includes
quiet and thoughtful guitar prodigy Muddy Waters
(JEFFREY WRIGHT) and impulsive and colorful
harmonica player Little Walter (COLUMBUS SHORT).
Fascinated by the sound of the music - and eager to
cash in on the record burgeoning record business -
Chess arranges a recording session for Waters.
Waters' early recordings start moving up the R+B
charts and receiving heavy play.
Chess treats his musicians like family -- he buys them
a Cadillac when they record their first hit record --
although the line between business and personal
sometimes causes conflict with his increasingly
talented and successful stable of artists. After backing
Cadilac Records chronicles the rise of Chess Records
and its recording artists. In this tale of sex, violence,
race and rock and roll in Chicago of the 1950s and 60s,
the film follows the exciting but turbulent lives of some
of America's greatest musical legends.
The story of how the blues became popular and gave
birth to rock and roll begins at a dingy bar on the rough
South Side of Chicago in 1947, where an ambitious
young Polish emigre, bar owner Leonard Chess
(Academy Award-winner ADRIEN BRODY), hires a
talented but undisciplined blues combo that includes
quiet and thoughtful guitar prodigy Muddy Waters
(JEFFREY WRIGHT) and impulsive and colorful
harmonica player Little Walter (COLUMBUS SHORT).
Fascinated by the sound of the music - and eager to
cash in on the record burgeoning record business -
Chess arranges a recording session for Waters.
Waters' early recordings start moving up the R+B
charts and receiving heavy play.
Chess treats his musicians like family -- he buys them
a Cadillac when they record their first hit record --
although the line between business and personal
sometimes causes conflict with his increasingly
talented and successful stable of artists. After backing
© 2003 St. Louis Movie Review Weekly. All rights reserved, except where indicated.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
| ST. LOUIS MOVIE REVIEW WEEKLY |
up Muddy on his early recordings, Little Walter becomes a star in his own right, but his quick temper and
loud manner often run him afoul of friends and the law. He also finds that the only woman he can talk to is
Muddy's girl, Geneva (GABRIELLE UNION), who struggles to remain loyal despite Muddy's poorly concealed
affairs. Big Willie Dixon (CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER), a songwriter and bandleader, also is a key member
of the Chess Records family, as is Howlin' Wolf (EAMONN WALKER), an intense and proud blues singer
who develops a musical rivalry with Muddy.
But it's not until 1955 when a Chess artist finally "crosses over" into the realm of mainstream ("white")
America - a skinny guy from St. Louis named Chuck Berry (MOS DEF), whose dynamic "duck walk" and
catchy, country-tinged tunes mark the birth of rock-and-roll. When Berry is arrested and jailed at the
height of his career, Chess finds another talented performer to cross over singer Etta James (BEYONCE
KNOWLES), an emotionally scarred young woman whose vulnerability tempts Chess' loyalty and concern
in unexpected ways.
As rock-and-roll grows more popular, the Chess artists find themselves revered by a new generation of
musicians, but they have also each earned and lost a small fortune on booze, women and the high life,
and their addictions begin to take their toll. Even as tragedy befalls, their music and their spirit remain
strong: as the sixties wind down and Leonard Chess gets out of the record business, the blues live on. --©
Sony Pictures
loud manner often run him afoul of friends and the law. He also finds that the only woman he can talk to is
Muddy's girl, Geneva (GABRIELLE UNION), who struggles to remain loyal despite Muddy's poorly concealed
affairs. Big Willie Dixon (CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER), a songwriter and bandleader, also is a key member
of the Chess Records family, as is Howlin' Wolf (EAMONN WALKER), an intense and proud blues singer
who develops a musical rivalry with Muddy.
But it's not until 1955 when a Chess artist finally "crosses over" into the realm of mainstream ("white")
America - a skinny guy from St. Louis named Chuck Berry (MOS DEF), whose dynamic "duck walk" and
catchy, country-tinged tunes mark the birth of rock-and-roll. When Berry is arrested and jailed at the
height of his career, Chess finds another talented performer to cross over singer Etta James (BEYONCE
KNOWLES), an emotionally scarred young woman whose vulnerability tempts Chess' loyalty and concern
in unexpected ways.
As rock-and-roll grows more popular, the Chess artists find themselves revered by a new generation of
musicians, but they have also each earned and lost a small fortune on booze, women and the high life,
and their addictions begin to take their toll. Even as tragedy befalls, their music and their spirit remain
strong: as the sixties wind down and Leonard Chess gets out of the record business, the blues live on. --©
Sony Pictures