The movie is very well played and well directed by Don Cheadle as it presents a heart broken Miles Davis getting back to music after five years of wallowing in his own grief. It is not about the early days, it is not about jazz, it is about the person, as seen from the perspective of a douchy Rolling Stones reporter who is hungry enough to follow and get under Miles' skin.I liked the film composition wise. It felt trippy and jazzy and true to the idea of doing it differently. I didn't enjoy the film too much, though. It may have to do with me not liking jazz, or actually not feeling any empathy for any of the characters.Bottom line: more The End of the Tour than Whiplash, it wasn't my kind of film, but I really liked the way is was constructed. Cheadle made it clear that he is a talented director, as well as actor, and McGregor's contribution really sweetened the deal. You learn more about the cutthroat music industry in the late 70's than about music, though.

Review: Don Cheadle was definitely born to play Miles Davis, and the fact that Cheadle really did play the instruments throughout the movie, was an added bonus but the storyline was all over the place and you don't really get an insight into the man who was a musical genius. I liked the chemistry between Cheadle and Ewan McGregor, who played a writer called Dave Braden and Emayatzy Corinealdi played Frances Taylor, Miles Davis wife, extremely well. The film is based around a 5 year period, when Miles Davis stopped recording and he went on a downhill spiral, due to drugs, depression and violence. You don't really get to hear much of his music throughout the movie, and the constant flashbacks, spoilt the flow of the film. I was hoping to get a reason why Miles Davis had such a bad attitude and destructive behaviour but the director chose to stick to certain events that happened during that period. His troubled relationship with Frances, and heavy drug taking, played a big part in his constant paranoia and the way that he lived his life on the edge but the one thing that people loved him for, was his music. Personally, I was hoping for more from this movie, mainly because there hasn't been a film which has documented his life but with that aside, you can't fault the brilliant performance from Cheadle, who was the perfect candidate for this role. Average!Round-Up: Don Cheadle, 51, wrote, directed and produced this movie, and he put together the cast and budget, which must have been hard to do, as he was playing the lead. This is the first movie that he has directed, so he definitely jumped in at the deep end, by playing a musical icon. He also produced Crash, Talk To Me, Darfur Now, Traitor, The Guard and St. Vincent, which I found quite funny. His first movie as an actor, was in Hamburger Hill, in 1987, and he has starred in some successful films like Colors, Devil in a Blue Dress, Boogie Nights, Out of Sight, Traffic, Ocean's Eleven franchise, Hotel Rwanda, Crash, Reign Over Me, Brooklyn's Finest, Iron Man franchise, Flight and the Avengers franchise, so it isn't surprising that he has decided to turn to directing. For his first project, he certainly done a good job, in terms of putting in a brilliant performance but the script could have done with some structure and depth. Budget: $345,000 Worldwide Gross: $4.8millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their biography/music/dramas, starring Don Cheadle, Ewan McGregor, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Keith Stanfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, Christina Marie Karis and Morgan Wolk. 5/10

It's the late 70's. Jazz musician Miles Davis (Don Cheadle) has stopped publishing new works. He is constantly taking drugs, filled with regrets, and living alone. Reporter Dave Braden (Ewan McGregor) forces his way into his home and eventually befriends him. Mile's record producer steals his tape and he sets off to get it back with a gun. There are also flashbacks of earlier days when Miles is married to Frances Taylor. He often cheated on her as their marriage deteriorated.Don Cheadle took the jazz music to heart. This is a rambling story that takes some unusual turns. The flashbacks are more traditional. Cheadle delivers a great performance as usual. Its freeflowing style does feel aimless for the first half. It's hard to feel the flow or the direction. It does turn into a weird thriller after the tape gets stolen. It's an interesting idea to change up the traditional biopic but I don't find it successful.

This movie was really bad. If you enjoy watching a foul mouthed, chain smoking, violent, self important junkie, then you might find this enjoyable. I found it a revolting attack on the eyes and ears. And how did Ewan McGregor get roped into doing this? Roles must be getting mighty hard to come by these days. There were a LOT of better black musicians who would be worthy of a biopic. Like Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, Blind Willie McTell, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Big Bill Broozy or Blind Willie Johnson. But, no, Cheadle had to make one of an angry trumpet player who was mad at the world. And he wasn't even that great of a trumpet player. Herb Alpert is hands down a much more talented player.