Miles Ahead (2015)

An exploration of the life and music of Miles Davis.

Director:

Don Cheadle

Writers:

Steven Baigelman (screenplay), Don Cheadle (screenplay)

Stars:

Don Cheadle, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Ewan McGregor

2 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Don Cheadle	...	Miles Davis
Ewan McGregor	...	Dave Braden
Emayatzy Corinealdi	...	Frances Taylor
LaKeith Stanfield	...	Junior (as Lakeith Lee Stanfield)
Brian Bowman	...	Walter
Michael Stuhlbarg	...	Harper
Christina Marie Karis	...	Janice (as Christina Karis)
Brent Vimtrup	...	Dieter
Michael Bath	...	Bartender
Reginald Willis	...	Manager
Montez Jenkins	...	Busboy
Morgan Wolk	...	Erica
Austin Lyon	...	Justin
Nina Smilow	...	Tami
Chris Grays	...	Buddy

Storyline

An exploration of the life and music of Miles Davis.

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Plot Keywords:

fight | party | key | sunglasses | recluse | 

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Taglines:

A film as daring as the man.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language throughout, drug use, some sexuality/nudity and brief violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 April 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Miles Davis Project

Filming Locations:

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$114,530, 3 April 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,610,719, 22 July 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sony Pictures Classics, Bifrost Pictures, Miles Davis Properties

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview, Don Cheadle said he chose to shoot the film entirely in Cincinnati, Ohio, because "the architecture and the look here can approximate the era that is being shot in Manhattan". Cheadle filmed at over 30 locations in downtown Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine, the West End, and Northside.

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Goofs

At the end of the film, Miles Davis is portrayed as wearing a vest that has the Twitter-related "#socialmusic" on its back. Davis died in 1991, but Twitter wasn't started until 2006.

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Quotes

Doorman: Do you have a pass?
Miles Davis: [points to his face] Your Looking At It

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Connections

Referenced in Film 2017: Episode dated 19 November 2014 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Taylor Made
Written by Taylor Eigsti & Don Cheadle
Performed by Taylor Eigsti

User Reviews

Cheadle Shines

The life and music of Miles Dewey Davis, better known as Miles Davis, is on display in the new bio-pic, Miles Ahead. Don Cheadle wears as many hats as afforded to him playing the title character as well as appearing in the credits as producer and director in a film that showcases Cheadle's talent and offers a strong case in ensuring the Oscar's have some color on the stage at next year's telecast.

The film opens in the later years of Miles' life. He has already reached fame and fortune. But his drug addiction has turned him into a Howard Hughes recluse. And he has temporarily turned his back on music. The story opens with Miles alone in his home when he is aggressively approached by Rolling Stone magazine writer Dave Brill (Ewan McGreggor) who is interested in writing about Miles' new project. The opportunistic Brill gets swept into a fantastical series of events that include following Miles as he confronts his record label, procures cocaine and is chased through the streets in a hail of gunfire by unscrupulous folk looking to advance their worldly standing through the theft of Miles' still-in-progress demo tape.

The events that unfold are not based on historical fact. But it doesn't matter. Miles Ahead is more a movie about the attitude and persona of legend Miles Davis than it is a straight up account of a fraction of the musician's life.

By way of flashbacks, we get a glimpse into the more serene life of Miles Davis before drugs off-tracked his career. A clean cut Davis is seen rising in ranks through the Jazz clubs of America and eventually falling for Frances Taylor (Emayatzy Corinealdi) who would eventually become his wife of 10-years.

The film doesn't dive too deeply into the domestic violence between the two lovers that became headlines back in the early 60's nor does it touch too intensively the racial tensions in America at the time. There is a scene where Davis is unprovokingly harassed by police officers and taken to jail for simply showing kindness to a woman of white skin, but the film has no message to present in terms of Miles' involvement with racial divides at the time. Instead, Cheadle keeps the camera focused on a single day in the broken down icon's history. This works largely to the films advantage but sacrifices giving us a glimpse into the life of the historic character.

Don Cheadle is a revelation as Miles. The raspy voice, the trumpet playing, the belligerence. All are played exactly on key. The supporting cast does amply in tow but there is little to look at outside of Cheadle's performance.

For this particularly story, things do work out well in the end. Relatively. We had hoped for end credit title cards that would have told us more about the man. Those unfamiliar with Miles Davis might have wanted to know if he was still alive or what became of Frances Taylor after their split. Even a short blurb unveiling Miles' nine Grammy Awards would have been refreshingly educational at film's end.

Miles Ahead is not the be-all of musician movies. But I would categorize Cheadle's performance of the late trumpet player as one of the better performances of a real-life musician on screen. It's good enough to recommend the film to anyone. Jazz fan or not.