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 Raineys Black Bottom is one of them. I didnt 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 Bosemans (Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War) last appearance after he passed away a few months ago. I really didnt know what to expect from this Netflixs Oscar-bait, but ...

Excellent!

'Ma Raineys Black Bottom' 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 similar...