Talk to Me

Back when radio personalities had, well, personality, ex-con turned DJ Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene Jr. (Cheadle) used his outlandish on- and off-air presence to lend a voice to the simmering racial and social unrest in 1960s Washington DC. Cheadle is magnetic as Greene battles both his uptight station director (the excellent Ejifor) and his own personal demons during his tumultuous flash of fame. Director Lemmons explores both the hilarity and gravity of Greene's complex story, resisting the need to tie it up with a neat, triumphant bow.