This is a historical drama about the two men of the influential Chicago-based record company Chess Records. Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) is a Polish Jew who starts his own club. Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright) and Little Walter playing at Leonard's club get into a gunfire. Even after Little Walter shoots up his club, Leonard asks Muddy Waters to record his music. Leonard pays to play and starts getting Muddy Waters on the radio in the South. Soon he's a big success. Other artists such as writer Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer), Chuck Berry (Mos Def), and Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles) join the label.
It's a reasonable movie but I can't comment on any historic accuracy problems. I'm sure the movie has been fictionalized somewhat and I'm usually fine with that. By dividing the attention between the two leads, the movie loses some of the intensity. The plot is a meandering road. The acting is solid by most of the lead characters. Again with so many characters, it takes away some of the drama. Any one of these iconic personalities need his/her own movie. Also the continuous rotation of characters makes following one specific character less than optimal. No matter what, the music is awesome and is the driving heartbeat of this movie. Beyoncé's singing is incredible.
It's a reasonable movie but I can't comment on any historic accuracy problems. I'm sure the movie has been fictionalized somewhat and I'm usually fine with that. By dividing the attention between the two leads, the movie loses some of the intensity. The plot is a meandering road. The acting is solid by most of the lead characters. Again with so many characters, it takes away some of the drama. Any one of these iconic personalities need his/her own movie. Also the continuous rotation of characters makes following one specific character less than optimal. No matter what, the music is awesome and is the driving heartbeat of this movie. Beyoncé's singing is incredible.