Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - Movie Review

 

Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, James Brown, and the Black Panther are just a few of the iconic roles that Chadwick Boseman has portrayed on the big screen. While he might not play a larger-than-life character in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Chadwick's performance may be the best of his stellar career. 

FAST FACTS

REPORTED BUDGET: $20 - $30 million

BOX OFFICE: N/A

ROTTON TOMATOES CRITICS / AUDIENCE SCORE: 99% / 81%

CINEMA SCORE: N/A

END CREDIT SCENE: No

NON-SPOILER REVIEW

Based on a play by August Wilson, this film focuses on a day in the life of southern blues singer Gertrude (Ma) Rainey (played by Viola Davis) and her band as they record some songs in a Chicago studio in 1927. 

Ma gives lessons on doing business as a black woman in a white dominated industry, while Levee, a young trumpet player played by Chadwick Boseman, tells the story of a young, talented, ambitious, and frustrated man dreaming of prosperity.

For those that don't know, Ma Rainey was a real person. She is credited as the "mother of the blues" and recorded many songs during the 1920s and 1930s. She was inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. 

Viola Davis does sing briefly in the film, but most of the singing is done by a trained vocalist they brought in to mimic the iconic songstress. If you're wondering about Boseman, he does do his own singing, and he also learned cornet for the role. Below is a 1927 recording of Ma singing the title track from the movie. Check it out!

OVERALL RECOMMENDATION

Both Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman have garnered a lot of Oscar buzz. Davis researched Ma extensively to do the blues legend justice on the big screen embodying the legendary blues singer. Boseman brings an impassioned enthusiasm to his final role, making one think and feel deeply. 

My Rating: A

This movie is only ninety-four minutes long. I highly recommend spending the time watching these great performances and learning a bit about music history. 

SPOILER REVIEW

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom takes place over the course of a single day in 1927 as Ma and her band record music in a Chicago recording studio. The film focuses on two distinct characters: Ma and Levee. 

Ma is a known phenomenon in the South as the predominant voice in blues music. Despite her fame, she still struggles with racial biases and blatant racism, which fuels her business sense. Most of her story line is centered around dealings with her white manager and music producer. While her manager is genuinely on her side, trying to increase her popularity, the producer is solely interested in making money off of her talent. Knowing this, Ma is exceedingly difficult to work with in order to assert her position in this racial power dynamic. Acutely aware that her talent is her power, she utilizes every chance to assert it.

Levee is a young and talented musician who has dreams of his own. He writes his own music, hoping to someday lead his own band. His day is spent mostly with his other bandmates in the basement of the recording studio. They chat about life, love, and race. While two of the other musicians have important and meaningful monologues, it's Levee that steals all of the spotlight. 

Levee details painful memories of his mother being attacked by white men while his father was away. He then explains that his father's response to the attack taught him how to properly deal with white people. Levee also vents about religion and the presence of God. Essentially, how could God possibly exist if such horrors are allowed to exist in the world? The argument about God reemerges later in the movie.

The two monologues delivered by Boseman are some of his finest acting in a career filled with tremendous performances. Heart-wrenching and passionate, one cannot take their eyes away from him - a sentiment shared by his fellow actors, who were all awed during these scenes. 

Eventually, the time comes for them to record Ma's music after several disruptions and delays. Ma dislikes Levee's desire for attention and fires him from the band. Finally free from the confines of Ma's band, Levee attempts to record his own music with the producer. Unfortunately, Levee is told his songs are not good enough but will get five dollars a song for his trouble. Later the movie returns to the studio to find an all white band playing Levee's music. 

Once Levee is dismissed by the producer, he returns distraught to the band's basement to collect his things. The emotional instability that you get glimpses of during his previous two monologues comes to a climatic head as Levee stabs a member of the band for stepping on one of his new shoes. In another display of Boseman's wonderful grasp of a complicated character in an even more complicated time, Levee cradles the corpse, muttering and mumbling as he unravels completely. 

The movie ends somewhat abruptly without resolution to Levee's predicament, but the story that was told is powerful and captivating. After some photos of the original Ma Rainey and her band, there is a wonderful dedication to Chadwick Boseman.

This was the final film of Boseman's career. Admittedly, his untimely death was not lost on me while watching his outstanding monologues, making them even more impactful. Some may make the comparison of Chadwick and the character he so excellently portrays: two young and immensely talented men whose stories end far too soon. 

If you are a fan of Chadwick Boseman, I highly encourage you to watch this movie as well as his other movie of 2020 (Da Five Bloods), which I reviewed here.