Leadbelly is a curious little thing. In its current state, it has the look and feel of a Movie of the Week with its VHS rip quality and aspect ratio which lends the film a certain nostalgic charm (though the production quality also has an exploitation-like feel to it). That feeling is helped by the film's TV movie-like narrative following the life of Huddie Ledbetter as he learns the art of the blues and spends much of his years in prison for murder. I can't say Leadbelly is the most innovative or game changing musical biopic out there, but there is a lot it does that I can admire. Roger E. Mosley does a wonderful job in the titular role, pulling off decades worth of a performance as he manages to string the cocky swagger of Leadbelly's youth with the shakier, weathered elderly man he becomes. The supporting cast also do fine jobs, though Art Evans has great time to shine. The music is predictably very good as the blues of Leadbelly soars throughout the film, carrying his resilience throughout his journeys across the South as he meets new friends. I enjoyed some of the scenes of Leadbelly playing guitar, especially those in a competitive way against other blues players. I also found myself taken by some of the film's lusher shots of Southern landscapes draped in reds and greens, which again makes me wish there was a better quality print to see it with. The narrative, though, can feel a bit cut and dry, taking us rapidly from town to town, person to person in Leadbelly's life without proper time to get to know them. There's more time spent on his prison years than anything else, which definitely took up more of his actual life but still there's a lot in the first half that feels unexplored. Still, Leadbelly is a good time and its commentary on both blues music and the horrors of Jim Crow racism are at least worth exploring.
Leadbelly is a curious little thing. In its current state, it has the look and feel of a Movie of the Week with its VHS rip quality and aspect ratio which lends the film a certain nostalgic charm (though the production quality also has an exploitation-like feel to it). That feeling is helped by the film's TV movie-like narrative following the life of Huddie Ledbetter as he learns the art of the blues and spends much of his years in prison for murder. I can't say Leadbelly is the most innovative or game changing musical biopic out there, but there is a lot it does that I can admire. Roger E. Mosley does a wonderful job in the titular role, pulling off decades worth of a performance as he manages to string the cocky swagger of Leadbelly's youth with the shakier, weathered elderly man he becomes. The supporting cast also do fine jobs, though Art Evans has great time to shine. The music is predictably very good as the blues of Leadbelly soars throughout the film, carrying his resilience throughout his journeys across the South as he meets new friends. I enjoyed some of the scenes of Leadbelly playing guitar, especially those in a competitive way against other blues players. I also found myself taken by some of the film's lusher shots of Southern landscapes draped in reds and greens, which again makes me wish there was a better quality print to see it with. The narrative, though, can feel a bit cut and dry, taking us rapidly from town to town, person to person in Leadbelly's life without proper time to get to know them. There's more time spent on his prison years than anything else, which definitely took up more of his actual life but still there's a lot in the first half that feels unexplored. Still, Leadbelly is a good time and its commentary on both blues music and the horrors of Jim Crow racism are at least worth exploring.
