Following the exploits of Miles Davis as he tries to recover a stolen sessions tape, Miles Ahead provides a glimpse into the life of a tortured genius. We meet the legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in 1979 in the midst of his five-year break from the music, a period marked by heavy drinking and drug abuse. The film is anchored by an exceptional performance from Don Cheadle who portrays Davis as he dives into moments of sheer madness, including several scenes involving gunfire, while being informally interviewed by a Rolling Stone writer played by Ewan McGregor. It is not a typical biopic but rather a mishmash of flashbacks to the relatively sane years when he was at the top of his fame and alternating with his chaotic adventure to reclaim his music. Miles Ahead is a film brimming with energy reflected by Miles Davis’s musical brilliance despite his personal demons and Don Cheadle’s nuanced depiction of a truly larger-than-life jazz legend.
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The Meddler
Starring Susan Sarandon, The Meddler is best described as a cute independent film that delves into touching subject matter with a mixture of comedy and romance. The acting is top-notch with Susan Sarandon playing an overly meddlesome mother to her daughter played by Rose Byrne who is dealing with a recent heartbreak. Sarandon’s character is willing to help anyone while trying to deal with heartbreak of her own that she stubbornly refuses to confront. Her character eventually becomes romantically involved with the always superb JK Simmons who plays an endearing motorcycle-riding retired cop. The Meddler is a very good light-hearted film that provides the right material for its exceptional cast to display their comedic, romantic, and dramatic range of talent.
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