Review of Talk to Me (2007) by Thomas P — 22 Jan 2008

Solid biopic about Petey Greene, a D.C. radio personality most famous for helping quell the riots in the Capital after Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. Don Cheadle is excellent as usual as the ex-con who hustles his way onto radio.

The supporting cast, including Martin Sheen as the station manager, Chiwetel Ejiofor as a talent manager, and Taraji Henson as Greene's girlfriend, are uniformly excellent. Sheen's character, usually relegated to being a stodgy plot point, is believable and sympathetic.

Cheadle and Ejiofor have great chemistry and most of the enjoyment is watching them riff off each other. The famous night of Greene talking to the rioters on the air is gripping and emotional, and the announcement of King's murder is done tastefully and not played for emotion.

The characters react as they should, and we're not given musical cues or anything else to jerk our heartstrings; Lemmons is confident that we know how to feel. The direction is quite good, and the characters really come to life.

The problem is that we don't get a lot of Greene on the air; we see him rise and fall, make a bit of a redemption with those he wronged, but we don't get enough of what made people love him, his charisma and gift of gab.

Cheadle is great but the script doesn't rise above other good biopics. It's worth seeing for the performances, excellent recapturing of the feel of the late 60's and the reaction to King's assassination, and to remember a radio pioneer.