Miles Ahead

Coco Green — 2016-05-22T13:22:51Z

The good news is that Miles Ahead, the Miles Davis biopic, has a lead actor (Don Cheadle) playing the title character that strongly resembles Davis (side eye, whilst still supporting, to you Zoe Saldana and David Oyelowo). The better news is that those wary of biographies which take you through a troubled childhood, discovery, downfall and comeback, highlighting little known facts of creative genius, will find none of that here. It was more a day-in-the-life-of in which Davis's dialogue and flashbacks tell us enough about who he is and where he is going. The bad news is that those looking for Davis's music will be disappointed because there are few Davis tunes.

In Miles Ahead we find Davis living in disarray and being spoken of by both music critics and producers in the past-tense, although he's still very much alive. Just with nothing to say, and lonely in a world of notoriety. So he stays home—managing pain, demanding cheques from Columbia (Records) and having parties for one with drugs and alcohol, until journalist Dave Braden (Ewan McGregor) comes looking for a story—and maybe a sneak peak of his much anticipated album.

At a Ritzy Picturehouse screening on 6th April, Cheadle, who also directs, explained that with the support of Davis's children and ex-wife he created a story to reflect the essence of Davis's music—alive, dynamic and pushing boundaries. This is accomplished visually and through storytelling techniques—with flashbacks that share scenes with the present and car chases. Listening to Cheadle talk about what audiences should expect reminded me of Quentin Tarantino discussing The Hateful Eight roadshows, highlighting the cinematic experience of 70mm film because, like Tarantino, Cheadle wants to take viewers on a journey. If you surrender to it, suspend what you think you know about Miles, his myth and his music, and tales of redemption; and go in expecting stories of love, money and addiction (both the redeeming and destructive kinds), you'll find something that exceeds your expectations and makes you question how this film took 8 years to make.

Dir. Don Cheadle, 2015

Bessie

Coco Green — 2016-04-13T17:23:16Z

Get ready for booze, explicit sex, and a love triangle. Essentially a blues story, but also so much more. Queen Latifah (Dana Elaine Owens) reportedly spent the better of a decade trying to get this film made. However the film doesn't appear to be a labour of love; the Bessie Smith biopic seamlessly weaves the personal, the poetic and the political.

Part of the reason this HBO TV film took so long to be green-lighted is because Ms Smith, The Empress of the Blues, is still a black woman of African descent in 1920s and 30s US; so just as today her labour power was limited as her story's perceived mass appeal. For some reason white artists' pain is universal the artist can embody creativity and pathos; but black artists' can only tell black stories (which is what leads to cultural appropriation I suppose). Despite talent, drive and a head for business, which help to substantiate the American Dream for those of you who don't know, her contribution to jazz and music as a popular, lucrative commodity has been largely forgotten. But it's the latter that makes the story that much richer.

If anyone is familiar with the films Ray (2004), Get on Up (2014) or What's Love Got to Do with It (1993), or really any performer biopic, knows the drill: traumatic childhood, abuse, alcohol/drugs and lots sex. Yet Bessie manages to incorporate these tropes while portraying people, not caricatures, or props for the main characters. Motives are unclear and people prove to be reliable, then unreliable, then loyal once more. Thinking about how black artists confront racism and challenge injustice is also well done as the audience is already so drawn in by the jazz, costumes and unflappable Smith that we're not just rooting for her, but what for what her achievements will mean for millions. Also the struggle for artists to get their fair share and respect outside of how much money they can make for labels will be even more relevant for contemporary audiences.

If you don't have HBO there will be a one-time showing at 19:30 on Wednesday, 13 April 2016 at Regent Street Cinema, London.

Dir. Dee Rees, 2015

myDylarama

Miles Ahead

Bessie