Cadillac Records

The plethora of musical-biopic clichés in director Darnell Martin's Cadillac Records can't submarine the work of a terrific ensemble cast and a great soundtrack of 1950s pop tunes—from the bluesy stylings of Etta James to the rock-n-roll crossover hits of Chuck Berry. Based on a true story, the film charts the rise of Chess Records, the influential label of legendary platter producer Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody), who made stars of James, Berry, and especially Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), depicted here as one of Leonard's close personal friends as well as his first discovery. Concentrating on the success of Chess' exclusively African-American roster of artists, the film explores how fame and fortune unleashed personal demons fueled by liquor, drugs, and sexual excess in these performers. Waters cheats on his long-suffering wife (Gabrielle Union) with a parade of floosies, while Leonard carries on behind the back of his wife (Emmanuelle Chriqui) with Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles). As in many bio-pics, the script plays a bit fast and loose with the facts (here glossing over Chess' exploitation of his artists). Most of the actors perform the songs themselves, with Knowles batting James' signature tune “At Last” out of the park, Wright providing a skillful simulacrum of Waters' distinctive vocals, and Mos Def particularly fine as Berry. A few factual liberties aside, Cadillac Records recreates this dynamic era of American popular music with great verve and style. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by writer-director Darnell Martin, the two behind-the-scenes featurettes “Playing Chess” (26 min.) and “Once Upon a Blues: Cadillac Records by Design” (16 min.), six minutes of deleted scenes, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray version is “The Chess Record Player” interactive playlist feature. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a winning film.] (E. Hulse)