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.
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.
