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Miles Ahead
USA 2015
produced by Robert Ogden Barnum, Don Cheadle, Pamela Hirsch, Darryl Porter, Daniel Wagner, Vince Wilburn jr, Lenore Zerman, Mark Amin (executive), Steven Baigelman (executive), Cheryl Davis (executive), Erin Davis (executive), Cassian Elwes (executive), Jonathan Gardner (executive), William Hightower (executive), Robert Lewis (executive), Brian Pope (executive), Stephen J. Rivele (executive), Christopher Wilkinson (executive) for Kind of Blue Productions
directed by Don Cheadle
starring Don Cheadle, Ewan McGregor, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Keith Stanfield, Brian Wolfman Black Bowman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Christina Marie Karis, Brent Vimtrup, Michael Bath, Reginald Willis, Montez Jenkins, Morgan Wolk, Austin Lyon, Nina Smilow, Chris Grays, Amber Hawkins, Mariah Means, Ken Early, Jeremy Dubin, Shyra Thomas, Brian Phillips, Marissa Ford, Jeffrey Grover, Courtis Fuller, Drew Lachey, Chris Bortz, Theron Brown, Mark Turkeltaub, Brian Cashwell, Paul Chambers, Ernie Royal, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Gary Clark jr, Robert Glasper, Antonio Sanchez, Esperanza Spalding
story by Steven Baigelman, Don Cheadle, Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, screenplay by Steven Baigelman, Don Cheadle, music by Robert Glasper, Miles Davis
review by Mike Haberfelner
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It's 1979, and jazz's living legend Miles Davis (Don Cheadle) hasn't
recorded anything new in five years due to health (and drug) issues, very
much to the dismay of his employer Columbia Records. There's a rumour
though that he has an unreleased tape of a recent session in his
possession - and suddenly everybody wants to bet their hands on it, first
and foremost Dave (Ewan McGregor), a reporter from Rolling Stone magazine,
who hopes to sell it to the highest bidder - but while he makes an
elaborate plan to steal the tape, then abandons it because he has become
Miles' friend, Harper (Michael Stuhlbarg), a sleazy music agent, has no
such reservations and snatches the tape at a party. Once Miles has found
out about this, he stops at nothing to get the tape back, even if it means
shooting it out with Harper and his bodyguard Walter (Brian Wolfmanb Black
Bowman), with Dave having by now become his loyal companion - but it's
ultimately Harper's protegé Junior (Emayatzy Corinealdi) who saves the
day changing sides just in time ... Miles Ahead is not a
bad movie per se, it's subtly directed, moves along at a steady pace,
features plenty of action, the original tracks by Miles Davis are
well-used, and Don Cheadle comes across very authentic as the erratic
Miles, even to the point where that man's raspy voice comes across as more
than just mockery ... but then again, Miles Ahead does try too many
things all at once, and that's where the movie fails: It tries to tell
Miles Davis' whole life story anchored around a fictious episode (that
even gets many facts wrong and is just too reference-heavy), tries to
create a link between the actual story and Davis' marriage to Frances
Taylor that has gone to shambles years before, it tries to understand the
enigma Miles Davis was without understanding the enigmatic quality of the
man was part of his appeal, and it tries to squeeze elements of action
cinema like shoot-outs and car chases into the mix. Now that said, as a
director Cheadle still finds some fascinating imagery to bring things
across impressively, it's just that the film as a whole falls short of
expectations. Oh, and one thing: Why is there a hip hop track over the
end credits? Is there some silent agreement that films with Afro-American
leads have to have a hip hop track somewhere in there because ... well,
because it's the black thing to do? Now don't get me wrong, I like hip
hop, and I'm perfectly aware that Davis' last studio album, the
posthumously released Doo-Bop, was in fact a hip hop crossover
album - but the track played at the end of Miles Ahead was NOT from
that album and in fact bears little relation to possibly the greatest jazz
musician ever (yes, I'm a fan in fact). Ok, true, it's not that that track
destroys the movie by any means, it's just an odd choice ...
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