Viola Davis

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM: searing, with an electric performance

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Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis in MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a searing revelation of the impacts of racism, with charged performances by Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis.

The plot is about a turbulent recording session in 1927 Chicago, featuring the ferocious diva Ma Rainey, the Mother of the Blues. But the movie is really about how each character has been traumatized by racism. We see overt racism in the American North – in a cop, a working class deli, a recording studio and a crushing final shot of cultural appropriation. But the key is the reflection of racism in how it has shaped each of the characters.

There is a violent eruption that literally stuns the audience, and then, as Billy Wilder advised, the movie doesn’t stick around too long after. This is a dark film.

Chadwick Boseman in MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

The core of the film is Chadwick Boseman’s portrayal of Levee, the trumpet player in Ma’s backup band. He sees himself as a star in the making, which doesn’t sit well with Ma. Boseman’s Levee is a peacock, but Boseman reveals that Levee understands superficiality and transcends it. At his core is a rage and a unhealed wound, profound emotional damage that he is able to hide…until he doesn’t.

Whether blowing his horn, hanging in the band room or canoodling with Ma’s oversexed sweet young thang (Taylour Paige), Levee is charismatic. The highlight of the film is his gripping monologue, and he’s absolutely electric at the climax.

Boseman died earlier this year at 43 after playing Jackie Ronbison, James Brown and Thurgood Marshal, and soaring to superstardom as Black Panther. There’s been a lot of buzz about a posthumous Oscar for this performance, which is both sentimental and richly deserving. I certainly haven’t seen a better performance in 2020.

Viola Davis, as one would expect, has the presence and ferocity to make an excellent Ma Rainey. The real Ma Rainey wore exaggerated makeup and was constantly sweaty, and Davis uses here characteristics in her performance.

Davis and Boseman are big stars, but Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is an ensemble work. Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Jeremy Shanos and Paige are all excellent.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Blues is the second August Wilson play, following Fences, that Denzel Washington has brought to the screen in a deal that originated at HBO and moved to Netflix. This is obviously a play, but it doesn’t feel too stagey, especially with the scenes of the Chicago streets and an earlier Ma Rainey live performance in the rural South.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is one of the Best Movies of 2020 – So Far and a Must See. It’s streaming on Netflix.

FENCES: actors and their monologues

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Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in FENCES
Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in FENCES

Denzel Washington directs and stars in the movie version of the August Wilson play Fences, which manifests as an actor’s showcase.  Set in post-World War II America, Fences is entirely character-driven, and revolves around its two main characters, the fiftyish sanitary worker Troy (Denzel) and his stalwart wife Rose (Viola Davis).

A prototypical alpha male, Troy is an entertaining motormouth, which is fun to watch and also initially masks the exceeding complexity of his character. He’s a proud man – fiercely proud of his paycheck and home ownership, but not above skimming from someone vulnerable to secure it. He is bitter that racism denied him a professional sports career, but when improved race relations give his son more opportunity, Troy’s impulse is to sabotage it. His chief identity is as the head of his family, but he can betray other family members. Living in a racist society has helped mold Troy, but so have his own gifts and flaws.

Rose is utterly steadfast, a woman devoted to making things operate smoothly – despite Troy – in their home and family. Deep waters run silent, and – at first – we don’t see that Rose has a mind and identity and pride of her own.

Viola Davis’s performance is brilliant and powerful.  As an actor, Denzel is at the top of his game.  Mykelti Williamson is especially good as Troy’s brother, a brain-damaged veteran of the Pacific war.  Stephen Henderson also delivers a nomination-worthy turn as Troy’s neighbor and co-worker Bono.

Thoughtful and well-acted as it is, Fences is a filmed play, and it’s very stagey. Every so often, it’s time for a monologue and one really fine actor stands and declaims while the others watch and regard him/her. It’s really not cinematic in any sense.

The Wife was profoundly disappointed that I did not share her admiration for Fences.  She thinks that Viola Davis’ performance and the growth of the character of Rose make this an excellent movie. She even directed me NOT to write about Fences, lest I “desecrate Viola Davis’ performance”.