Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: Film Review

ure, so the makers of this film already had a great starting point. Luckily, they took it and ran with it and made an adaptation that achieves something very rare for play adaptations: it transcends the stage. Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s adapted screenplay makes it so that it no longer feels like a play. Sure, the staging of the film is very similar to that of theater (very few locations, staying in one room for large sections) but the dialogue, performances, and cinematography allow the film to appear very cinematic.

From a technical standpoint, this film is very successful. The production design, while simple, is noticeably careful and considerate. Same goes for the costume design. The real star of the show behind the camera, though, is the camera itself. Tobias Schliessler, the director of photography, should receive some recognition for his work here. He is largely responsible for this film’s seamless transition from stage to screen.

I will say this as plainly as I can... This film does not work without the mastery that is the performances from the lead and supporting casts. Everyone in this film does excellent work. Colman Domingo, Michael Potts, and Glynn Turman are all fantastic as Cutler, Slow Drag, and Toledo, respectively, but I think the standout of those three is Turman. Turman’s turn as Toledo is the most meaningful of the supporting cast and is done with the right amount of emotion and grace. His piano monologue is aces. The two stars of the film, though, Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman, are really what brings this film to its level of success.

Viola Davis, as we already know, is a fantastic actress. She's a national treasure. She has multiple Oscar and Tony nominations and a couple of wins, and I think that she has all but secured another nomination with her turn here as the legendary blues singer Ma Rainey. Viola Davis in this role is transformative and commanding. She ultimately takes control of every scene she is in. Ma Rainey’s no-nonsense attitude really allows Davis to be a character that we as an audience have never witnessed her as. Even though her screen time is relatively limited (more so than you’d think, considering she’s the titular character), Davis makes the most of every single second, and it is truly a joy to behold.

Truthfully, even though I’ve given the film all of this praise, if I could only give one reason to watch this film, it would be Chadwick Boseman’s performance. In his final role filmed before his untimely and shocking death in August 2020, Boseman delivers a career-best performance as Levee, Ma Rainey’s ambitious trumpet player. In being one of the biggest superhero movie stars on the planet, Boseman never really showed the audience the absolute breadth of his skills as an actor. In Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, he gives it his all and then some. Through this character, Wilson (and Santiago-Hudson) explores the effects that failed ambitions can have on a black artist, especially of this time period. Through the white manager’s exploitative efforts, we see Levee rapidly mentally deteriorate as the 94-minute film progresses, and Boseman portrays it as such with massive aplomb. He and Davis both deliver Wilson’s impeccable monologues perfectly and with such seeming ease. This, unfortunately, will be the last time we see Boseman in a new role, but it is truly one to look at very fondly. He should receive at the BARE MINIMUM a nomination, and possibly a posthumous Oscar, for this performance. His only competition (that I know of thus far) would be Delroy Lindo in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, that Boseman is in as well.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a soaring achievement that everyone involved with this film should be proud to have on their resume. With this, I see no reason as to why there would be opposition to the production of the rest of Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle. They’ve certainly got a ticket from me.

Viewed on Nov. 27, 2020 at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema

Run Time: 94 minutes

Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief violence