![]() Adding star power is Knowles, doing her Diana Ross best as the fragile James. As Waters' competition, Eamonn Walker ("Tears of the Sun," "Duma") is dynamic and intimidating, his Howlin' Wolf a force of in the dark woods nature. Jeffrey Wright plays Waters with a padded, stiff lower lip, akin to Brando's Godfather, and captures the essence of the man and his music. We do see a quick cooking of the books to siphon off some of Berry's royalites to the needier Waters. Waters is portrayed as always going begging to Chess, having amassed no fortune of his own, but none of the others seem wanting. ![]() Considering the film's title, though, Martin soft pedals any conflicts between Chess and his artists. Brody convinces of his attachment to Blues and the Black community, and later, his conflict between his marriage and his feelings and protectiveness toward Etta. Since winning his Oscar, Adrien Brody has been bumping along from one odd project to this next, but his Leonard Chess is the most appealing character he's played since. Wanting a woman artist on his roster, Chess signed Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles, "Dreamgirls"), the woman who he took a very personal interest in and whose troubled background led her down the smack path. Chess was smart enough to change with the times, signing Chuck Berry as rock 'n roll not only exploded, but crossed over to white audiences. Once Muddy's established (with such hits as "Rollin' Stone," which lures the Rolling Stones to Chess Records to meet an idol), Leonard gets Little Walter a #1 hit with "Jukebox," but Little Walter can't handle success, succumbing to drugs and alcohol. Leonard, who has since married Revetta (Emmanuelle Chriqui, "You Don't Mess with the Zohan") abstains from the women who pile on with the unrepentant Waters. Leonard does the unheard of, traveling in the same car with Muddy throughout the South to get record play. When his band challenges the band on stage at the Macomba, a long standing, if often rocky relationship is forged. ![]() He meets his wife, Geneva (Gabrielle Union, "The Perfect Holiday," "Meet Dave"), and a seventeen year-old mouth organ maestro, Little Walter (Columbus Short, "This Christmas," "Quarantine"). Hearing his own performance, Waters packs up and moves into Chicago, playing on the street. In a terrifically nostalgic scene, Martin introduces Waters as a poor rural Black who is chosen by to be recorded by the Library of Congress on the side of the road. Chess records performer Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer, "Barbershop") acts as our guide and narrator, explaining that women's underwear had always been thrown on the stage of Blues acts, but when a white girl did it they called it rock 'n roll. The film is choppy at times and its time line a little squiggly, but "Cadillac Records" should please as a celebration of the best of the Blues and the birth of Rock 'n Roll. Writer/director Darnell Martin ("I Like It Like That") follows the standard music biopic rise and fall outline, packing her film with outstanding music (mostly performed by the actors) and several strong performances.
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