Miles Ahead

Legendary jazz musician Miles Davis is the subject of this appropriately mercurial, free-form biopic, which marks the directorial debut of Don Cheadle. Most of the film takes place during the late 1970s, depicting Davis (Cheadle) as a prickly, cocaine-addled recluse whose best days are behind him. Holed up in his apartment, he receives a visit from a pushy journalist (Ewan McGregor) who wants to write a "comeback story". Soon, the two men are trying to retrieve a new, unheard session tape that Davis has recorded, leading them to a high-speed chase and a series of shoot-outs. These scenes are fun, but the farcical tone clashes with the seriousness of the flashback sequences, which portray Davis's turbulent relationship with his first wife, Frances Taylor (Emayatzy Corinealdi). Cheadle deserves plenty of credit, but his performance veers towards caricature, and the film doesn't quite hit the high notes that it aims for.