Talk To Me, Ardelia

Those who loved the character of Ardelia Mapp all out of proportion to the number of lines she had in Silence of the Lambs will be happy to learn that the actress who played her, Kasi Lemmons, is the director of Talk to Me (2007), the Ralph "Petey" Green biopic played with startling conviction by Don Cheadle.

Hindsight being what it is, it's usually pretty much a no-brainer to stock a period film like this one with really great music of the day, but it's a separate, more impressive art to be able to create great musical moments with that music and in Talk To Me Lemmons does this over and over again, with help from music supervisor Barry Cole (American Psycho) and music editor Chris Bozung (25th Hour). 

Two of the best happen in rapid succession. The first is a jealousy fueled fist fight that takes place to Gloria Jones' classic soul version of "Tainted Love"—a song lots of folks unfortunately know only through the Soft Cell version. The second is Petey's eulogy for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the eve of his assassination.

I was surprised to find myself getting weepy rather late into this second sequence, several minutes after the news of the assassination had been relayed. Petey was announcing over the radio that James Brown would be holding a free concert at Georgetown University in honor of King (a conceit of the film; James Brown actually performed in Boston after Kings' death), and I couldn't figure out why this detail would be so tear-jerking until I realized that it was Petey's natural leadership and unvarnished honesty that I found so moving, and that it wouldn't have been so moving if I'd witnessed more of either of these qualities from the public figures in my own life.

Petey tells his devastated radio listeners to stop rioting, to come to the concert, and then he says:

"Bring your heartache. Bring your anger. Just bring it all to me. We're going to work it out together. We're going to get through this people."

Then he puts on Sam Cooke's "Change Is Gonna Come" and with that Kasi Lemmons shows, credibly, how one DJ was able to help stop some of the most heartbroken and justified rioting of all time. Earlier in the film, we'd learned that this song was responsible for Petey having become a DJ in the first place, so there's also the theme of music having transformative powers for which I am a sucker. 

Suckerdom aside though, this film is worth your while. See it. And if you'd like more info on Petey Green and his role in stopping the D.C. riots after King's assassination, listen to the Fresh Air interview with director Kasi Lemmons or read Laugh if you Like, Ain't a Damn Thing Funny by Lurma Rackley.

Comments

I believe James Brown saved the city of Boston the night after Dr. King's slaying. He wasn't in Washington. This was one of the most frustrating points in the movie for me as it was not believable. PBS did an hour long documentary on the James Brown free concert at the Boston Garden. Not even sure why this was in the movie, as it was a huge inaccuracy.