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Miles Ahead | 2016 | R | - 6.6.10

A look at the tumultuous period in the late 1970s when jazz legend and musical genius Miles Davis (Don Cheadle) all but disappeared from the music world. For 5 years he suffered from physical and emotional pain and drug abuse but then returned to accolades. Also with Ewan McGregor, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Keith Stanfield, Christina Karis, Austin Lyon, Nina Smilow, Joshua Jessen and Theron Brown. Directed by Don Cheadle. [1:40]

SEX/NUDITY 6 - A nude man and a nude woman are shown having sex in bed: they kiss and alternate positions revealing bare backs, buttocks, chest and breasts. Several photographs show a man with two women while they are in different positions on a bed (the women are seen topless and revealing bare breasts, bare abdomens and buttocks); we see them kissing and hugging the man and sex is implied. A young woman is shown in a bed covered to the upper chest by a sheet (her upper chest is seen and sex is implied with a young man).
 A woman wearing a man's shirt dances and we see her lower buttocks. A wife wearing a negligee (it reveals cleavage and bare shoulders) sleeps in bed and her husband gets in bed next to her and kisses her shoulder and hugs her. A wife bathes her husband in a tub and we see his upper chest. A woman wearing dance garb that reveals cleavage, bare back, and bare legs to the hips dances with a man onstage. Women wear low-cut dresses that reveal cleavage, shoulders and upper backs. A young man wears his shirt open to reveal his bare chest and abdomen. A man wearing robe that hangs open reveals his bare chest and abdomen and a woman with him is seen wearing a negligee that reveals cleavage and bare shoulders.
 A husband and his wife hug and kiss. A wife becomes upset when another woman asks her husband to walk her outside for a cab.

VIOLENCE/GORE 6 - A man driving a car speeds through the streets while being shot at by a car that is chasing; the car swerves to a stop and the driver and passenger get out and run into an alley (we see that one man has been shot in the hip with some blood glistening in the dark; we see this seen again later). A man threatens several men in an office and fires hitting a lamp behind one man who looks frightened.
 A man punches another man and several people fight in a crowd as a man is shot and another man is beaten with a heavy floor ashtray (we see people lying on the floor with some blood visible) and the crowd runs and screams. A man punches another man in the nose (we see a little blood). A man punches another man in the face and he falls to the ground. A man swings at another man and the other man holds a gun on him. A police officer hassles a man on a sidewalk outside a club and when the man protests, he is promptly struck by the officer and another man and arrested (we see his bloody head, jacket and shirt). A young man is chased through a club by a man with a gun and they fight with punches exchanged; the young man gets a gun and holds the other man at gunpoint and they argue. A man kicks something and yells at a woman. A woman yells at a man and throws a bottle of wine at him, they argue, they hit each other in the face and tackle each other into a table that breaks under them (the man seems to have injured his hip). A man with a gun and another man burst into an office and hold two other men at gunpoint. Two men fight in the ring in a boxing match and one is knocked out. A husband grabs his wife by the arm and rants about hearing another man's voice in their house; the man grabs a knife and the woman tells him that the man is downstairs (she runs away when he leaves). A man throws a bottle at another man (he is not harmed).
 A man on the phone threatens another man for money for drugs. A man says to another man, "I'll kill you." A woman yells at another woman on the phone. A man becomes annoyed when his music is referred to as "jazz." A man asks another man about drugs and women and his muse. A man says of another man, "He's more profitable dead than alive." A white man watching an African-American dancer says, "How 'bout a little dark meat for Thanksgiving?" When asked how a man learned how to play the piano, he replies, "I woke up black and I knew how to play." A wife becomes upset when her husband tells her that she has to stop dancing and give up her career. A woman tells a man, "He'll kill me," and the man replies, "I'll kill you." We hear that a man has a degenerative hip disorder. A husband threatens to hurt his estranged wife, then threatens to commit suicide if she doesn't come back to him (neither happens).
 We see a glimpse of what seems to be a surgical procedure with blood and tissue visible. A dancer falls onstage and appears injured. A man is shown with a healing cut on his cheek. A man punches a heavy bag and another man holds it.
 A man vomits (we see goo and hear a gag). A man's home is strewn with papers and bottles and food containers.

LANGUAGE 10 - About 112 F-words and its derivatives, 58 scatological terms, 13 anatomical terms, 9 mild obscenities, name-calling (junkie, dog, dodgy, crazy, dumb, Hitler, Neanderthal, whore, crazy white ([F-word deleted], crook, flunky, Larry & Mo, pathetic, racist, bastard, stupid ape, jerk, shystering, chick), 8 religious profanities (GD), 6 religious exclamations (e.g. For Christ's Sake, Oh God, Oh My God, Jesus, Jesus Christ).

SUBSTANCE USE - A man pours cocaine on a platter and cuts it then snorts it before sharing with another man who also snorts some, a man rubs his finger along his gums (presumably with cocaine on them), a man buys drugs in a dark alley and we see him preparing to inject himself in the arm, a man snorts cocaine and rubs some on his gums, a man says that he did some dope, a man tells another man that he know where to get the best coke in the city, a man takes a pain killer with alcohol, and a man is prescribed pain killers for a hip disorder. A man tells a woman that she is drunk, a man drinks alcohol from a bottle in a few scenes, people are seen drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes at a party in a man's home, a man drinks and smokes at a reception, people drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes in a club scene, a woman drinks a glass of wine, and a woman drinks alcohol at a reception. A man smokes in many scenes throughout the film, we see many cigarette butts in ashtrays in many scenes throughout the movie, and a man smokes on the street and in a car in several scenes.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Miles Davis, jazz, drug abuse, innovators, creative people, divorce, alimony, gender roles, racism, truth, self-destructive behavior.

MESSAGE - Music has to move on or it'll die. Creative people can be self-destructive.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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