Miles Ahead

As a fan of the music of Miles Davis and being interested enough in the man to have read his autobiography and the brilliant biography by Ian Carr, I was very keen to see 'Miles Ahead' which marks the directional debut of Don Cheadle who also stars in the role of Davis.

Having attended a lunchtime showing in a local cinema, I found myself on my homeward journey trying to make some kind of sense out of what I had just witnessed. As anticipated, the music was superb though the great clips were usually far too brief, but I have the records at home so I can listen to those whenever I please. So, what of the film?

The basic story centres on the so called "silent years" between 1976 and 1980, when Davis became a virtual recluse, rarely if ever straying from his New York home. He had turned 50 in 1976 and was recovering from a hip replacement operation but was also suffering from inflammation of the joints making it almost impossible for him to pick up and play the trumpet. The prodigious amounts of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes that he took, certainly did not aid his recovery. In the film, he is visited by a writer (Ewan McGregor) who claims to represent 'Rolling Stone' magazine and who is seeking a story but also has hopes of provoking Davis back into playing again.

All well and good, except that the story then flips back and forth as Davis recollects the tumultuous relationship he had with the dancer Frances Taylor, who in 1958, became his first wife. We get glimpses of how he controlled and abused her and there is a recreation of the famous incident when Davis was assaulted and arrested by police officers outside Birdland after having escorted a white female customer to a taxi cab. 

Meanwhile back in the 1970's, the bogus journalist appears to win the confidence of Davis but a recently completed tape of a Davis session is stolen and the film recounts the efforts made to recover this precious recording. It is during these scenes that the film gets a bit surreal and for me, loses it's direction. The tape though was not a piece of fiction but actually dated from a session on 2 March 1978. It was a session that produced only one six or seven minute recording with Larry Coryell on guitar, and Davis, not on trumpet, but on organ and synthesiser. After this short attempt to return to the business of making music, Davis retreated back to his home, where he remained for a further two years, only emerging in 1980 to begin recording what would become The Man With The Horn'.

My overall impression of the film is very mixed. It was generally well directed and for me, captured the periods (the late 1950's and 1970's) very well but I just felt that the storyline was rather contrived and all became too surreal during a boxing match late in the film. Credit must be given to Cheadle however, for his portrayal of Davis. So convincing was he, that there were long periods when I totally forgot that I wasn't watching Davis himself.

I don't really see this movie winning any major awards but if, like me, you are a fan of Miles Davis, then I suggest you get yourself along to a cinema to see it. Just don't expect to see the Miles Davis life story or to learn anything new.