Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 🎙
Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend. Traditionally, I would have seen a new release by now kicking off my 2021 film ranking. Last year was unfortunately The Grudge. However, no notable new releases yet. I’ll keep you updated.
🍿 Today’s movie: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom tackles 2020 in 1927
Today’s movie is George C. Wolfe’s play adaptation Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020). Wolfe, who is better known as a playwright and stage director, adapted this film from the 1982 August Wilson play of the same name. Viola Davis, who stars as the titular character, won an Oscar for another Wilson adaptation Fences. Here’s what it’s about:
In 1927, famed Black blues singer Ma Rainey (Davis) records her latest record in a Chicago recording studio with her band (Chadwick Boseman, Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts). While working through several difficulties, tensions rise between the group. [Trailer]
Why you should watch it: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is my favorite kind of play to movie adaptation. One that allows the carefully crafted scenes of dialogue to breathe while still adding just enough cinematic flair to keep you interested. Wolfe gives the film rhythm. Each scene feels like it moves to a beat, and like a conductor, he speeds it up and slows it down where needed.
However, what makes Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom really sing is the towering performance by Chadwick Boseman. This movie is about the pain of being Black in America and how it forever shapes who you are and how you experience the world around you. Boseman’s character, a composite of a few real-life people, shows us that pain with incredible nuance that should earn him a posthumous Oscar.
This week is a new week. Make the most of it.
See you Thursday —
Karl
Great review!