Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Tensions rise when the trailblazing Mother of the Blues and her band gather at a Chicago recording studio in 1927. Adapted from August Wilson's play.

  • Released: 2020-11-25
  • Runtime: 94 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, Music
  • Stars: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, Michael Potts, Jonny Coyne, Taylour Paige, Jeremy Shamos, Dusan Brown, Joshua Harto, Quinn VanAntwerp, Antonio Fierro, Roger Petan, Daniel Johnson
  • Director: George C. Wolfe
 Comments
  • Sleepin_Dragon - 21 June 2023
    Something gets lost in the translation, and I'm not sure what.
    Legendary blues singer Ma Rainey and her band record an album in a bustling 1920's Chicago, a stickler for order and structure, Rainey fights against efforts to change things up a little.

    It's a solid film, I wanted this to captivate and enthrall, sadly it didn't do either.

    I think at times it feels a little too much like a stage play, which of course isn't surprising, too many times it's dialogue laden, and whilst the content and delivery are excellent, the heavy dialogue slows the pace of the movie right down, leaving it feeling very slow in parts.

    I can only imagine how this would have felt as an actual stage play, with an intimate setting, as a film it seemed endless.

    Viola Davies never disappoints, and she does well, she's convincing. The person that blew me away was Chadwick Boseman, and seeing him even now upsets me, a talent taken way too soon, for me he was the standout here.

    I watched it once, it interested me, not sure I'll rush back in a hurry.

    6/10.
  • BenjaminPopkin - 30 March 2022
    Great Film
    Heartbreaking that this was Chadwick Bosemans last performance, but bitter sweet that it was probably his best. He absolutely steals the show. With every line of dialogue Chadwick expresses his emotions beautifully. The laughter, the excitement, the anger, and the sadness can all be seen through his eyes and it's truly amazing how you can see the passion within him.

    The screenplay is extremely well written. There are multiple monologues in which Chadwick evokes so much emotion that it not only brings him to tears but potentially to the viewers as well. I certainly found myself to be choking up a few times. Viola Davis is also great in this film. She was so charismatic. I can see her and Chadwick being nominated for Oscars. They both show some much passion in this film it's just an experience in itself to see them act. There are some really powerful monologues and important concepts and themes in this movie.

    The fact that this film is only an hour and a half saves this film. This film did not need to be long and I'm glad it wasn't because it did NOT feel like it dragged at all. I was entertained and intrigued the whole time. Especially the scenes with people sitting around talking. The dialogue is just so well written. Had this film been longer it would not have been as good.

    I thought the filmmaking was great as well. The cinematography was gritty and the shots all were filmed in a way that makes us feel like we are in the room with characters. The film is based on a play after all. The long takes, shot composition and the fact that it's all mostly in one location is what really brought out that theater feeling. You can tell it's based off a play.

    Overall, I thought Ma Rainey's Black Bottom was a great film. The screenplay is fantastic as well as the acting and the filmmaking combined with the music work extremely well together to bring this play to the screen. It's a perfect length in my opinion and doesn't drag at all. A great ending as well. Lots of symbolism. I'd love to see Boseman get the Oscar nom he deserves and hopefully a win as well. So sad that we won't get anymore from him. Truly an amazing actor and he shows it in this film.
  • ronin-88 - 12 December 2021
    Filmed play, long speeches. Slow moving despite moments of great acting.
    If you like movies where characters talk in ultra long speeches about themselves and why they are who they are, then this is a movie for you. If you need to see plot develop through action and events as opposed to a lot of monologuing, then you might not like this movie.

    This story takes place on July 2, 1927, where blues singer Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) is due to make a recording at the Paramount Recording Studios. The movie is more about the Ma's band and their interpersonal dynamics than it is about Ma herself. The incidents of this day will forever change the lives of band members and possibly Ma herself.

    First off, there are moments of truly excellent acting especially from Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman. But, for me, this wasn't enough to save this overwrought movie that was really a filmed play. The characters and scenes were frequently boring. It was a bunch of damaged people, who had their own flimsy theories of how life would turn out for them. There was a lot of examination of how people tick and how they don't. But, in the end, a lot of what the characters say about themselves might not be true at all.

    Some people eat this stuff up but I felt like I had spent an hour and a half listening to people who I would walk very far away from in real life because none of them had any wisdom or joy to offer me. All they could do was drain my own desire to actually achieve some kind of happiness. I did watch it to the end for the curiosity of how they would wind this up. The ending is shocking but I had unfortunately lost interest before it happened.
  • ksf-2 - 2 August 2021
    pretty good, but wanted more of Rainey's life
    The awesome Viola Davis is Ma Rainey, black singer who played and toured with so many greats around the country in the early 1900s. Louis Armstrong, Bess Smith. A netflix production, so it'll probably end halfway through and make us wait five years for the second half. Chad Boseman is Levee, the horn player. Unfortunately, this was Boseman's last film, as he passed from cancer after this was made. Ma Rainey had the business figured out, and knew what the crowd wanted. She was tough, energetic, and according to wikipedia, liked men and women. Oh, and if you didn't know, the black bottom is a dance, while Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a song, a play, and a film. Since it started as a play.. there's a whole lot of talking at the beginning. The first forty five minutes are listening to Levee (Boseman) talk about his miserable youth and the plight of the black man in U. S. history. Ma is only in the first half of the film for about two minutes. It's good. Although the whole thing takes place in just one recording session. I was hoping to learn more about Rainey's life. Although we see some of that in the film Bessie. MRBB ends quite dark. They do show fun still photos of Rainey performing, during the credits. Produced by Denzel. Based on the play by August Wilson. Directed by George Wolfe. It's a very interesting snapshot of the times.