Cadillac Records

Cadillac records is the 2008 film which is based on the story of the rise and fall of Chicago based Chess Records, the record label which boasts the first recordings of Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley and Etta James. It explores the sound of the Chicago Blues from the 1940s to the 1960s, though the label itself was started in the 1950s.

Chess Records was historically co-founded by brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. The movie has Leonard Chess as the sole founder. This is likely because Leonard was the brother everyone knew, and Phil took care of the books. The movie deviates from history only slightly, and as everyone knows when it comes to making a film out of a historical event or a book, things must be omitted for the sake of screen time and story line. That said, this film seems to stay true, down to mannerisms and language of the era. In the film, all of the characters including Leonard Chess are constantly calling each other “Mother-F***ers,” which if you watch the Martin Scorcese blues documentary, “The Blues,” or read the biography of Muddy Waters, “Can’t Be Satisfied,” is historically accurate.

The film stars Adrien Brody as the music-loving and business savvy Leonard Chess, Cedric the Entertainer as bass man and songwriter Willie Dixon, Columbus Short as the wild and crazy Little Walter, Mos Def as the vivacious Chuck Berry, Jeffrey Wright as the strong and steady Muddy Waters, and Beyonce Knowles as the hardened Etta James.

Directed by Darnell Martin, and in spite of some minor historical inaccuracies, Cadillac Records does not disappoint any blues lover. The movie is carried by the flawless casting. Where uncanny similarities in appearance are lacking (which is not that frequently) the artful performances take over and truly make you feel as though you are watching the blues happen. Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters in a subtle, understated performance is captivating. As a film lover and blues lover, I’m not sure that I would have trusted anyone other than Wright to do someone like Muddy Waters justice. (In fact, if you watch this film and see in Wright as an actor, what I saw, I also highly recommend that you check out his performance in another film about a historical figure, painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, titled Basquiat.)

The film is packed with brilliant performances – Mos Def’s range in acting is always delightful and surprising, Adrien Brody’s performance is soulful, even with all the f-bombs in the script. Beyonce Knowles as Etta James does not walk on screen until later in the movie, and it is perhaps the fault of the script and chronology of events that makes her story seem a little sandwiched in, but Knowles’ performance is surprisingly solid. I was not expecting to see much depth from Knowles, but there it was. I even managed to forget who she was while watching this movie. It is truly the cast that pulls this movie together.