New Cheadle film has critics buzzing

By Kemp Powers

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Black actors sometimes complain about being cast only as criminals or thugs in movies, but Don Cheadle has beaten that stereotype and earned critical acclaim for his roles in films like Oscar winner "Crash."

Cheadle's new "Talk to Me" debuts in major U.S. cities on Friday. As he did with his performance in genocide movie "Hotel Rwanda," Cheadle's turn as a flamboyant radio disc jockey in "Talk to Me," has transformed what could have been a little-noticed art house film into a motion picture that has critics buzzing.

Gil Robertson, president of the African American Film Critics Association, called "Talk to Me" one of his favourite films of 2007 so far.

"Don's films have always had a level of substance," said Robertson.

Cheadle brings to life the true story of Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene, a radio personality and activist in 1960s Washington, D.C.

The former prison inmate spoke for the black community during the tumultuous civil rights era in the United States, but his alcohol abuse and womanizing threatened to destroy his career and personal life.

Cheadle navigates Greene's ups and downs without alienating audiences, and his performance brings comedy, seriousness and humanity to "Talk to Me", movie critics say.

"What I like about Don is that he makes smart films," said actor/director Mario Van Peebles. "He plays in the gray area between the good guy and the bad guy, which is the area where most of us live."