Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

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Usually, at the end of each year, I prepare my watchlist for the next twelve months. Obviously, no matter how many movies I add to the list, I know dozens of more films will be announced and released throughout the year. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is one of them. I didn’t know a thing about this flick, but it received the always interesting awards buzz, which turned it into a mandatory viewing before Christmas comes around. I went in knowing only one thing: this is Chadwick Boseman’s (Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War) last appearance after he passed away a few months ago. I really didn’t know what to expect from this Netflix’s Oscar-bait, but I was afraid that Boseman’s nomination chances were high only due to what happened in real-life instead of him truly deserving that recognition…

Well, I can safely and confidently write that Boseman delivers his career-best interpretation, and it wouldn’t be unfair for him to get tons of awards posthumously. From an impeccable accent to his mind-blowing emotional range, passing through long monologues and uncut takes effortlessly, Boseman is the strong glue that holds everything in place. What seems, at first, a hangout movie (narrative without a clear central plot) turns into a character-study. Levee wants to follow his dreams, do what he does best in his own conditions and with his personal interpretation of music and soul. Boseman incorporates this character seamlessly, delivering a memorable performance that I hope will be remembered as a worthy Oscar winner if this situation ends up becoming true.

Even though Boseman is the actor that shines brighter, every single one is absolutely outstanding. Viola Davis shares the main spotlight with him by representing the (real-life) iconic blues singer, Ma Rainey. To be completely honest, I didn’t know who this singer was nor how she impacted soul music. Ruben Santiago-Hudson first feature-film screenplay is packed with entertaining banter between the band members but also with heartfelt, gut-wrenching, shocking monologues that deeply explore a character’s past and personality. Davis tackles every single line of hers with brutal intensity and extreme expressiveness, constantly offering 200% of her energy.

George C. Wolfe (first movie I see of his) demonstrates exquisite control of every scene and elevates the dialogue-driven narrative with an exceptional balance of tone and pacing. Tobias A. Schliessler’s camera lingers beautifully on the actors, allowing them to showcase their abilities but also helping the viewer feel enthralled with their words by not creating any unnecessary technical distractions. Andrew Mondshein’s editing also contributes a lot to the smooth pace that the film warrants, but it’s Branford Marsalis’ inspiring, soulful score that will probably encourage most viewers to enjoy the overall movie. Technically, I can’t point out a single issue. Huge praise for the appropriate costume design and overall production value.

Honestly, I don’t really have much to complain about. It might not have a conventional main plot, but it’s also far from being a “nothing” film. As I mentioned above, the banter between Toledo (Glynn Turman), Cutler (Colman Domingo), Slow Drag (Michael Potts), and Levee is incredibly amusing and genuinely hilarious at times. However, it goes down through an unexpected dark path, ultimately culminating in a surprising finale. Every character has their own monologue containing details of their personal lives, which I regularly felt interested in, despite the repetitive structure. It works as a character-study, mainly about Levee and Ma Rainey, but also as a fun, good time that goes by quicker than I initially anticipated.

In the end, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is going to be forever remembered as Chadwick Boseman’s last role. Call it destiny, but it’s, undoubtedly, Boseman’s career-best performance. Hopefully, if he ends up winning an Oscar posthumously, this won’t be identified as a charity recognition but as a worthy, fair, triumphant celebration of his inspiring, impactful talent on-screen. Viola Davis also shines in this uncommon narrative, which focuses its spotlight on long, uncut, engaging monologues, captivating dialogues, and entertaining banter, all handled effortlessly by every actor involved. Despite the absence of a clear central plot, it’s closer to a character-study than to a hangout flick. George C. Wolfe and Ruben Santiago-Hudson deliver a technically flawless movie with an excellent balance of its tone and pacing but also boasting impeccable cinematography, seamless editing, and a soulful score. It’s definitely a serious contender for the awards season, so make sure to save ninety minutes of your Christmas season to enjoy this simple yet surprising story.

Rating: A-

Excellent!

<em>'Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom'</em> features great performances from Viola Davis (Ma) and Chadwick Boseman (Levee). Their characters aren't flawless, yet Davis and Boseman make them each a fascinating watch; the latter has one film-stealing scene. They both truly give their all. The other cast members, spearheaded by Colman Domingo (Cutler), are good as well.

The plot is riveting and very well told, with near perfect pacing and an astutely chosen run time; a 2hr film, for example, would've dragged. The end scene is a noteworthy one, also. There is a lot to enjoy here, even for a story filled with sadness and injustice. Highly recommend.

As a film adaptation, 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' isn't so much a movie as it is a play with a few more options; a showcase for its actors rather than a cinematic experience. But the play it adapts is very good, one of my favourites of Wilson's. It's from an era of theatre in the United States that dealt heavily with the casualties of the American Dream, where you're sold a bill of goods but they'll never come through for you and you spend your whole life chasing a phantom. I think those messages are still relevant - if not more so now - than they were when they were originally written.
- Jake Watt

Read Jake's full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-ma-raineys-black-bottom-a-powerfully-acted-tale-stumbles-from-stage-to-screen

**Viola Davis as the Queen of the Blues**

The events of the film take place on the 1st day in the year 1927, and one place is a recording studio for music albums. We start with the preparation of the studio for the blues legend Marini, accompanied by her close entourage, and a team of musicians led by the ambitious young man, Levee, who has a new and open perspective on the relationship of black artists to the recording studios run by whites, which is a conflicting perspective. Wholly with Ma Rainey's personal vision. This conflict with other conflicts govern the events of this difficult day.

The movie that comes to mind most when you watch this movie is (Fences 2016). The two films are based on two plays by August Wilson. The similarities between the two films can be caught in the general atmosphere of the two films. You will find the theatrical atmosphere in addition to the embodiment of the ambition of the black community, which August Wilson was concerned with embodying in different periods of American history.

Ma Rainey is a violent and cruel character who uses all the tools at her disposal to achieve her goals and clings to all her rights, starting from her money to a bottle of Coca-Cola, while Levee's personality is a little lighter, manipulative, and has a tendency to pride in himself, but he does not find any barrier to fraud to achieve his goals as well. The two characters have goals and have a history.

It is a 100% pivotal movie, with the exception of some songs and some kinetic scenes that are characterized by a theatrical nature that I liked very much, and this is not favored by some, contrary to what I liked about the movie.

The film was filmed to keep pace with a period of time in which it is related to fashion, cars, decoration, and the musical instruments used, and all of these things were implemented with the utmost perfection, and most of these complications were implemented in short scenes. The dialogues were wonderful and effective, and it is strange that it is the least associated with the theatrical atmosphere, and this was evidence of the genius of August Wilson.

The film's handling of sub-themes was also incredibly impressive, reflecting the dynamism of filming studios and the scales and levers of power. Who is the decision-maker and who has the strongest personality in the studio to influence decision-making?

The characters of the film are certainly limited, but they are certainly effective. Everyone, without exception, takes their turn under the spotlight, since we are talking about the stage. But the longest moments and the most prominent performance between the actors were certainly Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. Contemplating Chadwick Boseman's performance, he is certainly a hardworking actor and has done great things despite his young age.

Set on a hot and humid afternoon in Chicago, this tells the tale of rising temperatures at a recording session by the eponymous blues singer (Viola Davis). She's already an huge success but is having difficulry asserting ownership over her own material and ensuring she gets paid properly for her music. Meantime, in another room her assembled backing musicians are increasingly treading on eggshells around each other as the waiting begins to pit them against each other. Most irritable of all seems to be the young "Levee" (Chadwick Boseman) who has ambitions of his own - both behind the microphone and with one of Ma's favourites (Taylour Paige), a woman who is quite happy to string him along. Trying to moderate his increasingly eccentric behaviour are "Toledo" (Glynn Turman) and "Cutler" (Colman Domingo) but as the afternoon rolls on, it appears that there is nobody in this room without demons of some sort or other. It's based on August Wilson's play and it really does look like it; indeed if you were to have filmed it as per one of those National Theatre live style of operations it might be hard to tell the difference later in the cinema. There are speeches, monologues if you like, peppering the drama but given it's about a musician there is a disappointing paucity of music. Davis is on convincing form, and I felt both Boseman and especially Turman delivered well too, but somehow I just didn't feel she really had that much to get her teeth into - save for a few scenes where attitude is queen and a couple of sassy numbers. Simply, there is just way too much chatter and not enough actual substance to sustain what I felt was actually quite a long and really quite dry ninety minutes, and at the end I felt that I'd have enjoyed it better on stage. It does look good, and the production designers have gone to meticulous lengths to recreate 1920s Illinois, but somehow this was all just a bit disjointed and lacking.