Writer-director Darnell Martin’s shuffle through old-school R ’n’ B
is shambolic but authentic, affectionate and enjoyable. A MOJO-reading muso’s dream, the plot, set as blues gave way to rock ’n’ roll, sees Leonard Chess’ (Adrien Brody) nightclub burn down, leading the entrepreneur to start a record label to showcase his artists: Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Howlin’ Wolf (Eamonn Walker), Chuck Berry (Mos Def) and Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles). Brody is too opaque to give the movie a real centre, but the music kicks up a storm, and the real revelation is Knowles, who burns a hole in the screen as sexy, drug-addled siren Etta — in a better film she’d be Oscar-nominated, no worries.