Talk to Me

Ralph Waldo ‘Petey’ Greene (Cheadle) was an ex-con turned shock jock who entertained and inspired his Washington DC listeners in the mid-60s when the city was troubled by race riots and political violence. His life story followed that familiar arc of starting out with nothing, rising to fame then falling from grace. The film sticks to a similarly well-worn narrative path, which does no favours to a story that’s for the most part engaging but rarely engrosses. However, fiery performances from Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Greene’s manager Dewey Hughes, and a terrific soul soundtrack pep up what is essentially another by-numbers celebrity biopic.