It's a musical showcasing unknown artists who perform songs in strange but inventive ways never heard before. It's about their de facto representative, their rise to dizzying success as well as their many troubles and, in some cases, their fall to dreadful lows. It is about their struggles (and agent's maneuvering) to be heard on the radio and thereby sell their records. It's about life in the big city and race relations during times of segregation. It's about addiction. Clubs. Showbiz. Records. Radio. Payola. Loyalty. Flamboyance. Big houses and shiny, new cars. Fidelity and infidelity. Sex. Drugs. Even rock and roll. And, it's a true story. But, it's not "Dreamgirls." Nor is it "Ray." Or "La Bamba." Or even "Hustle & Flow." Although it does bear more than a little resemblance to those films and others of similar ilk. There are so many films of this type that there should be an actual name for this subgenre, one that sticks.
"Cadillac Records" is much more low-key than "Dreamgirls" (more similar, perhaps, to "Ray"). Its cinematography and production design (by Anastas Michos and Linda Burton, respectively) are much less dazzling and flamboyant. And it is much less hyped. But it works reasonably well as a film, which, when making a movie, should be the first and foremost goal. Although it is not inspired enough to break away from the typical artist-biography path, it does tell its story better, is better directed, features better acting (Knowles included) and is better accomplished in terms of basic film-making technique (e.g., editing) than "Dreamgirls." Nevertheless, like any such musical, the standout feature is the fine music, the whole reason the film exists, crafted for fans and fans-to-be.
"Cadillac Records" is much more low-key than "Dreamgirls" (more similar, perhaps, to "Ray"). Its cinematography and production design (by Anastas Michos and Linda Burton, respectively) are much less dazzling and flamboyant. And it is much less hyped. But it works reasonably well as a film, which, when making a movie, should be the first and foremost goal. Although it is not inspired enough to break away from the typical artist-biography path, it does tell its story better, is better directed, features better acting (Knowles included) and is better accomplished in terms of basic film-making technique (e.g., editing) than "Dreamgirls." Nevertheless, like any such musical, the standout feature is the fine music, the whole reason the film exists, crafted for fans and fans-to-be.