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Cadillac Records (2008) ****
Directed by Darnell Martin
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I reluctantly added Cadillac Records to my Netflix queue after hearing that the great A. O. Scott of The New York Times, the second best film critic around after Roger Ebert, called the film one of the ten best of 2008. You can’t always account for even the best tastes, and so I sat down to watch with low expectations, looking forward to nothing other than checking Cadillac Records off of my watch list. How pleasantly surprised I was while viewing, and reflecting quickly on what I had just seen once the credits began to roll, I judged Darnell Martin’s docu-melodrama about the emergence of one of the great labels in music history to be a truly wonderful movie! For me, though nowhere near one of the ten best films of 2008, Cadillac Records goes down as one of the year’s three most underrated films. The music is just fantastic, and the young, relatively inexperienced cast brings alive the great and tragic players in Cadillac Records’ formative years. Everyone knows the names Etta James (Beyonce Knowles), Chuck Berry (Mos Def) and Muddy Waters, but for me, it was the profoundly sad stories of those more obscure legends such as Little Walter (Columbus Short), Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer) and Howlin’ Wolf (Eamonn Walker) which fascinates the most. Sadly, this box-office flop is mostly known as Beyonce’s movie, and though she certainly performs the hell out of her role and is quite fun to watch, she doesn’t hold a candle to Jeffrey Wright, who brilliantly portrays Muddy Waters with a perfect blend of reverence and condemnation. This performance alone makes Cadillac Records worth seeing. Thankfully, the musical performances are also fantastic, with the exception of an original song by Beyonce which sounds like something Etta James would absolutely scoff at! Adrien Brody, who is quickly becoming one of my least favorite actors, once again makes me doubt that he has what it takes to truly carry a film on his shoulders. I don’t care if he’s won an Oscar; he’s been bland in every film I’ve seen him in since The Pianist, and his lack of charisma as Cadillac Records’ founder Leonard Chess adds nothing at all to the film itself. Otherwise, take my and A. O. Scott’s advice and give an underappreciated gem of a film a worthy viewing!
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Labels: 2008, Musical, Drama, Four Stars
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The Class (2008) ****1/2
Directed by Laurent Cantet
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The Class, based on a book by the film’s star Francois Begaudeau, is one of the most exhausting films I’ve ever seen, and if you’ve seen the movie, I bet you find that surprising. Begaudeau wrote about his real life experiences teaching in Paris’ inner city, and, with little exception, this Cannes Golden Palm winner absolutely drips with authenticity. What personally made it so exhausting was the fact that I am also a high school teacher who saw The Class on a Saturday after working with teenagers everyday from Monday to Friday of that week. It almost felt like I was spending my day off at work! That being said, this film is one of the best of 2008, and Begaudeau absolutely deserves all the accolades in the world for his spot on script and his undeniably brave performance. He doesn’t make himself out to be the savior of these children. As a matter of fact, there are moments when his behavior is not professional or even appropriate. Begaudeau’s character is named Mr. Marin, and he’s no Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society or Sidney Potier in To Sir, With Love! Marin isn’t going to win a teacher of the year award any time soon, and he’s certainly not going to receive much appreciation from his students when the final bell rings for summer vacation. Yet, the man ultimately does give himself completely to his profession, which the film emphasizes by staying completely within the campus of the school itself. There’s a documentary feel which is undeniably effective thanks in large part to the amazing performances from the inexperienced young teenagers cast perfectly in roles which require them to bring complete truth to their characters, most of whom live in borderline poverty. The film falters a bit in a scene towards the end when a discussion about ancient Greek philosophy, which couldn’t ring more false, attempts to bring The Class’ loose structure to a neat and tidy conventional conclusion. Thankfully, it is followed by a final scene which ends the film on the same brilliant note of authenticity which permeates almost every single frame throughout.
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Labels: 2008, Drama, Four and a Half Stars, Foreign Film, French
June 25, 2009