Don Cheadle’s “Miles Ahead” filmed here in 2014 should arrive in Greater Cincinnati theaters on Friday, April 22, says the Cleveland-based promoter.
And stars Cheadle and Emayatzy Corinealdi could attend a Cincinnati premiere being planned for March 26, promoters say.
Cheadle directed and starred as jazz icon Miles Davis with Ewan McGregor (“Star Wars,” “A Million Ways to Die in the West,” “Trainspotting”) as Dave Braden, a “Rolling Stone” reporter.
Braden helps Davis recover a stolen audio recording in New York City in 1979, as Davis was ending his self-imposed five-year “silent period” out of the public eye. In flashbacks Corinealdi (“Middle of Nowhere,” “Addicted”) plays Frances Taylor, his first wife in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Davis died in 1991 at age 65.
Sony Pictures Classics has released the movie poster and this new, longer synopsis:
“In the midst of a dazzling and prolific career at the forefront of modern jazz innovation, Miles Davis (Don Cheadle) virtually disappears from public view for a period of five years in the late 1970s. Alone and holed up in his home, he is beset by chronic pain from a deteriorating hip, his musical voice stifled and numbed by drugs and pain medications, his mind haunted by unsettling ghosts from the past.
“A wily music reporter, Dave Braden (Ewan McGregor) forces his way into Davis' house and, over the next couple of days, the two men unwittingly embark on a wild and sometimes harrowing adventure to recover a stolen tape of the musician's latest compositions.
“Davis' mercurial behavior is fueled by memories of his failed marriage to the talented and beautiful dancer Frances Taylor (Emayatzy Corinealdi). During their romance and subsequent marriage, Frances served as Davis' muse. It was during this period that he released several of his signature recordings including the groundbreaking ‘Sketches of Spain’ and ‘Someday My Prince Will Come.’
“The idyll however, was short lived. The eight-year marriage was marked by infidelity and abuse, and Frances was forced to flee for her own safety as Miles' mental and physical health deteriorated. By the late '70s, plagued by years of regret and loss, Davis flirts with annihilation until he once again finds salvation in his art.”
Sony Pictures Classics calls the movie "a wildly entertaining and moving exploration of one of 20th century music's creative geniuses, Miles Davis, featuring a career-defining performance by Oscar-nominee Don Cheadle."
A limited national release is scheduled for April 1 in New York and Los Angeles. according to the “Miles Ahead” Facebook page.
"Miles Ahead" is rated R for strong language throughout; drug use; some sexuality and nudity; and brief violence. The movie received rave reviews when it premiered in October at the New York Film Festival.
