Honeydripper (PG)

John Sayles delves into the early years of rock'n'roll. Danny Glover plays the owner of a blues club in Fifties Alabama who tries to stave off bankruptcy by hiring the New Orleans legend "Guitar Sam" for a one-night-only gig.

Meanwhile a young musician (Gary Clark Jr) finds himself arrested for vagrancy by the sheriff (Stacy Keach). How the stories link up is the burden of this nicely acted but ponderously staged underdog drama. The musical interludes generate plenty of atmosphere, and there's an occasional zinger of a line. It's gentle stuff, but at over two hours it's mighty slow going.