Miles Ahead (2016)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

How sad is this?

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Actually, pretty good.. I usually hold so much disdain for all Hollywood movie portrayals, whether they be jazz, doo-wop, rhythm and blues.. I always find them so over the top, ridiculous, more than often inaccurate both chronologically and factually. I thought Bird and Round Midnight were quite disappointing, but this montage of the life of Miles Davis was done artistically well. It's not a biography in the traditional sense with a beginning, a middle, and an ending, but rather selected incidents from the trumpeter's life with flashbacks-- a montage, as it were. Excellent performances, particularly by Cheadle, and especially impressive was the fact that Mr. Cheadle took the time to learn the actual trumpet fingerings and give true realism to this work, as a special treat to the trumpeters in the audience. Worth seeing a least once, maybe twice...

I am big of both Miles Davis and Don Cheadle. Biopics are difficult to get right and I was encouraged when I learned that Cheadle would direct and only focus on a part of Davis' life - and an interesting one at that. The film overall is uneven and disappointing but does succeed in capturing the allure and eccentricities of Davis. I had a hard time believing the plot to steal and recover the tapes. I don't recall reading this in his autobiography but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It seemed silly and not befitting a jazz great to have his life boil down to a cops and robbers chase in the alley. Cheadle, the actor, captured the essence of Davis but struggled to anchor the film's narrative. The flashback scenes were gratuitous and inaccurate. Davis was beaten by a cop on 52nd Street not outside the Village Vanguard. The poster outside the Vanguard says he is playing with Red Garland but they Bill Evans playing piano inside. Stuff like that kills the movie for a real lover of Davis' work. I do think the filmmaker really captured the relationship with Frances correctly. That was haunting and beautiful and my guess is that it should have been the focus of the whole movie.

The movie is very well played and well directed by Don Cheadle as it presents a heart broken Miles Davis getting back to music after five years of wallowing in his own grief. It is not about the early days, it is not about jazz, it is about the person, as seen from the perspective of a douchy Rolling Stones reporter who is hungry enough to follow and get under Miles' skin.I liked the film composition wise. It felt trippy and jazzy and true to the idea of doing it differently. I didn't enjoy the film too much, though. It may have to do with me not liking jazz, or actually not feeling any empathy for any of the characters.Bottom line: more The End of the Tour than Whiplash, it wasn't my kind of film, but I really liked the way is was constructed. Cheadle made it clear that he is a talented director, as well as actor, and McGregor's contribution really sweetened the deal. You learn more about the cutthroat music industry in the late 70's than about music, though.

This movie was really bad. If you enjoy watching a foul mouthed, chain smoking, violent, self important junkie, then you might find this enjoyable. I found it a revolting attack on the eyes and ears. And how did Ewan McGregor get roped into doing this? Roles must be getting mighty hard to come by these days. There were a LOT of better black musicians who would be worthy of a biopic. Like Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, Blind Willie McTell, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Big Bill Broozy or Blind Willie Johnson. But, no, Cheadle had to make one of an angry trumpet player who was mad at the world. And he wasn't even that great of a trumpet player. Herb Alpert is hands down a much more talented player.