Legendary Jazz musician Miles Davis gets the big screen treatment, in a film that examines some of the finer points of his controversial lifestyle. In “Miles Ahead”, we take a look at Miles Davis (Don Cheadle), one of the most creative artists of the 20th century. Shacked up in his Manhattan apartment, racked with debts and regrets from the crazy days of the late 70’s, Davis finds himself wracked with pain from a variety of ailments and sweating for the net check from a dishonest record company. Between dodging sycophants and industry executives demanding for his next flavor of creative genius, he is haunted by memories of old glories and humiliations of his years with his one great love, Frances Taylor (Emayatzy Corinealdi). Most notably, the film is a stylized, immersive account of Miles Davis’ life as he moves through the underbelly of the jazz world, struggling to regain the creativity and inspiration that once earned him the praise of dependability. “Miles Ahead” is rated R for strong language, drug use, sexuality/brief nudity, and minor violence. The film is the crown jewel for Cheadle, as he wrote, directed and starred in it.

“Miles Ahead” is literally that when compared to other musical biopics. Don Cheadle is a triple threat with the attention to detail that goes into his first directoral effort. When looking back on the life of Miles Davis, we get a larger than life character who lived life in the fastest lane possible. This more than confirms that his story deserves a rightful telling, and thankfully it fell into the right hands. Cheadle doesn’t just tell a straight-forward story in real time, he takes two stories representing the past and present, and tells them simultaneously. This is a fresh perspective in presentation. Not so much for the idea, because this has been done before. But more so for the brilliance in editing from Film editor, John Axelrod, who takes an event going on in real time and compares it to something identical from Davis’s past. For example, if Davis is getting punched in the real time story, it will flash back to a time in his past where he felt the same effect, and continue the story from the past. This concept is nearly perfect, if not for the third act where the movie does start to feel a little jumpy from the number of times this effect is used. A few times is perfect, but when used too much, it becomes a cliche too quickly.

In addition to the master editing, Cheadle makes the most of so much more behind the technical aspects of the film’s designs. The cinematography is rich in texture, and very cohesive with the looks and feels of the 1970s. The wardrobes are so ridiculously 70’s that they become a funny sad-but-true tribute to the extreme colors of the drug era. The lighting from scene to scene is also a luxurous acheivement. The film’s ideal look is so inviting, as it works as a perfect counterpiece to the very sexy and seductive music that is narrating us through every scene. One thing that I found interesting about this movie that people will think I’m silly for, is that most movies have the music follow the pacing of the film. In “Miles Ahead”, it’s the movie that is following the rhythmic tones of a full orchestral band. Each scene feels like they start slow, and then build the tension and sometimes even the comedy that plays its way to a fast-paced bridge that brings every character full steam ahead from car chase shootouts to full-fledged hand-to-hand combat. For Don’s first movie behind the lens, he has proven without a doubt that he has done his studying when it comes to making the audience’s seventh movie sense pop, and I will greatly be looking forward to his next project.

Now that I’ve spoken about Cheadle’s major step forward in the creative process, lets talk about his performance on-camera. Simply put, Don Cheadle no longer exists; he IS Miles Davis. At this point in my critic career, I have seen probably close to a hundred of these musical biopics, and Cheadle’s casting in this movie is without a doubt the very best that I have ever seen. Everything from the vocal range, to the movements, to the look of a forty- year-old Davis is brilliantly captured by Cheadle giving his coolest performance to date, and that’s saying a lot from Mr. Cool himself. It’s very demanding that Cheadle has to portray Davis in two different attitudes throughout this movie; before the drugs and after. So his attitudes are very contradicting of the other, and it is endearing that he can pull off both equally as charming and powerful. The film has a surprising amount of comedy, and Cheadle himself would be a fool if he didn’t see the comical side to some of Davis’s most legendary of dealings when it came to the business side of his music. Ewan McGregor also adds a lot as a Rolling Stone writer who is thirsty for the scoop on the comeback of Davis. Together, the two weave their way through a barrage of bullets and booze to dazzle us with a blossoming friendship that comes across as anything but ordinary. Mcgregor’s character (Like us) is just trying to dig at where this musical genius lost it all, and luckily the movie provides more answers than we’re used to receiving for these true stories.

“Miles Ahead” is a smooth production of 95 beautifully constructed minutes, capped by the first real Oscar-worthy performance of 2016. The movie shows the true heart behind the ticking time bomb, and it’s Cheadle who presents us a one man show that hits all the right notes. Illuminating? Yes. Magnetic? You betcha. Unapologetic? With pleasure.

8/10