Film Reviews & Movie Analysis

It’s a scorching day in 1920s Chicago, where in one recording studio, Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) is set to record her first album – if she ever arrives. Her four piece band, left to practice until Ma makes her entrance, is made up of three older, calmer men, Cutler (Colman Domingo), Toledo (Glynn Turman) and Slow Drag (Michael Potts), who understand what their roles are and where they rank on the food chain.

Then there is Leevee (Chadwick Boseman), a skilled trumpeter eager to make the world see that he has what it takes. His vision stretches beyond the complacency of his bandmates, but the trauma of his past swirling inside makes him as unpredictable as he is talented.

You’re probably used to me saying this – but I had no idea what this movie was about before I pressed play, but it undeniably was captivating.

I love American cities in the 1920s – there is a reckless abandon in the air that speaks to me – and you get the essence of that coming through in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. We didn’t see much of the world outside of that stuffy recording studio but you know it’s there and all its opportunities, its hardships, its vastness calls out to you – making the ticking clock more palpable and the claustrophobia more visceral.

I actually did not know Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was based on a play of the same name by August Wilson. That being said, with the purposely limited locations and characters, there isn’t much to comment on accept for the acting, which never lacked in skill or dipped in quality from anyone throughout.

Viola Davies was unrecognisable as the unlikeable but later understood and championed, mother of blues, while Chadwick Boseman’s Levee was a loveable, unpredictable, tortured talent of a man. The fact he managed to wear so many faces and wear them well is a testament to his own acting.

It was bittersweet seeing Chadwick Boseman in his final movie role, but he outperformed, as did the entire cast making Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom worth the watch.