‘How many times have you got laid to this man’s music?‘
The music of Miles Davis changed the face of jazz forever. Like seemingly all his peers, however, his private life was an absolute mess. Miles Ahead attempts to demonstrate both sides of the so-called ‘Prince of Darkness’ – the virtuoso genius and the drug-addled lunatic…
Director and star Don Cheadle jumps back and forth between Davis in his prime and Davis later in life when the cocaine had taken hold. Cheadle stated at the time he was attempting to capture the essence of his subject rather than producing a historically accurate biopic. The result is a freewheeling and chaotic jumble of sound, lights and fading genius.
This is clearly a passion project for Cheadle and while he occasionally strays into parody, his portrayal of Davis is mostly compelling. Ewan McGregor fares better as an unscrupulous Rolling Stone reporter who will stop at nothing to get his story – even if it means spending hundreds of dollars on cocaine to get Davis talking.
Miles Ahead is a lot of fun but there isn’t much of substance here. I came away from it having learned very little about the man the film is supposed to be about.