Miles Ahead (Don Cheadle)

eviltimeban

Didn't see a thread on this, so I thought I'd start one. Saw this last night, and really enjoyed it.

It's an "unconventional" biopic for sure, in that it doesn't follow the usual tropes of growing up in poverty / catches a break / hits the big time / personal issues / fall from grace etc. It takes two periods of time and switches (often in a trippy way) from one to the other.

Ewan McGregor is great as a (fictional) Rolling Stone reporter on the hunt for a story, he's full of energy and really brings life to the movie. He plays well against Cheadle, who is fantastic as Davis - all whispering, cracked voice, limp, frazzled demeanour, and bad ass attitude.

He carries this over to the "flashback" sections, set in the late 50s, where he looks smarter but still speaks and acts the same.

I felt the parts with his wife were a little undeveloped, there was a different movie there I think. I just wanted it to get back to the "present" (1979) as this was much framed like a heist story.

Anyway, good movie, great performances, great music, worth a look if you want something different.

Decuc500

I was very impressed with this. It was interesting that it wasn’t a straight ahead biopic. The structure and the way it was filmed gave it a very loose feel, like the music itself.

Don Cheadle was very good in the part. You could tell it was a labour of love for him.