Don Cheadle serves as director/writer/producer/star of Miles Ahead, an unconventional biopic about legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. Unlike other biopics that cover a musician's entire life, Miles Ahead offers up a snapshot of Davis during the mid 1970s. At the time Davis has been out of the spotlight for almost five years and with his record company clamoring for new music, he meets Rolling Stone writer Dave Brill.
Much like Davis's music, the film is jumpy, both in pace and camerawork. It mirrors Davis's own restlessness in the film but can be jarring for the audience. Through the use of flashbacks, we get pieces of Davis’ back story, bringing us up to speed with what brought him to this point. As expected, it mainly involves women and drugs.
Cheadle’s performance is mesmerizing. His commitment to the role is clear and his drug-addled, haunted Davis is magnetic. His comedy chops come in handy as Davis swaggers and stumbles around those that adore him while undercutting that humor with a deep sadness and despair. Ewan McGregor as Dave Brill is solid, but mostly feels like Ewan McGregor doing what Ewan McGregor does – turning up and talking excitedly in a Scottish accent.
Although I get that this format is supposed to go against biopic conventions, it still feels rote. I hate to say that a film of musical genius, drugs, and philandering seems tired and overdone but it does. Viewing just a small slice of Davis’s life through a whirlwind adventure of guns and car chases makes for entertaining viewing, but I left knowing next to nothing in regard to Davis’s life and career. In trying to do so many things (an action movie, a biopic, a love story), Miles Ahead fails to execute any one thing particularly well.
Certainly Miles Ahead is entertaining, made with care and passion for the jazz trumpeter. However, it’s uneven storytelling and erratic pace tame down a great performance from Cheadle.
