Last year at the New York Film Festival, I saw the fest wrap up with the directorial debut of actor Don Cheadle. It was the biopic Miles Ahead, a passion project of Cheadle’s that he’d been trying to get off the ground for years. It played at the Closing Night selection and had some awards buzz surrounding it, but no 2015 release date. Well, that turned out to mean something, as it never came out, opting instead for this early 2016 slot. Part of that might be due to the middling reviews at the time, but mostly it was just a function of studios having other priorities and this being an odd little title. It’s hitting theaters this week though, so it’s time to discuss it a bit more now.
Once again, here’s a quick primer on the film itself, which of course is a look at a moment in time for legend Miles Davis. Cheadle plays Davis mostly during a period in which he had receded from public life and wasn’t creating music. There’s flashes back to his more productive days and his time with love and muse Francis Taylor (Emayatzy Corinealdi), but most of the movie is spent with Davis as he stays home, bemoaning what he’s lost. There’s also time spent with journalist Dave Brill (Ewan McGregor), who attempts to get him out of his funk. In addition to Cheadle, Corinealdi, and McGregor, the cast includes Keith Stanfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, and more. Cheadle obviously co-writes and directs, in addition to starring, so it goes without saying that this was a passion project for him.
I didn’t find the flick to be fully successful, but Miles Ahead definitely does have a few things going for it, mostly in regard to Cheadle. While I thought the screenplay he wrote with Steven Baigelman, Stephen J. Rivele, and Christopher Wilkinson was all over the place and the weakest link in the chain by far (their decision to involve a car chase and shootout just didn’t work for me), his acting and direction are far better. It’s one of his best performances, while his choices behind the camera impressed me. This is a flawed work, but Cheadle is going to make a great film one day. He’s employed strong cinematography from Roberto Schaefer, solid music from Robert Glasper and Herbie Hancock (besides what Davis contributes or Cheadle does himself), and especially the creative editing [...]
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