Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020) Movie Review
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is an adaptation of August Wilson’s play of the same name. I am generally a fan of Wilson’s work, he won his Pulitzer for a reason after all. However, I’m discovering that I don’t usually like cinematic adaptations of plays.
This story largely revolves around two main characters. Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) is known as the “Mother of the Blues” and is late to a recording session in Chicago. Her band however, is on time and they’re forced to wait for her in the rehearsal room of the studio. The rehearsal room is hot and tiny and feels smaller because of the big personalities that inhabit it. The band consists of Cutler (Colman Domingo) Ma’s right hand man, Toledo (Glynn Turman) the older piano player, Slow Drag (Michael Potts), and Levee (Chadwick Boseman) the ambitious trumpet player.
Being adapted from a play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a whole lot of talking. The rehearsal room is filled up with the chatter of the band mates. Levee in particular stands out. He has ambitions that he constantly vocalizes. He’s going to become a star all on his own without Ma. He wrote songs that he wants to record. This rubs his band mates the wrong way. Levee and Ma constantly butt heads in a power struggle.
In fact, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a story about power. Those who have it and those who don’t. Set in the 1920’s, race impacts the story in a huge way. Ma’s manager Irvin (Jeremy Shamos) is constantly trying to force her to do things she doesn’t want to do. The producer, Sturdyvant (Johnny Coyne), doesn’t care about anything other than getting the songs recorded the way he wants them. The power dynamic shifts between these two white men and Ma who flexes her muscles when she needs to. You get a look at the roadblocks put in place by the racism embedded within the system. These blocks affect Ma, Levee, and the band members in different ways and it’s a good examination of racism and power dynamics.
The performances are excellent with Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman standing out in the crowd. Davis is larger than life here, bringing charisma and strength to Ma. She has a commanding presence on screen and most of the time I was wishing the story focused more on her. She was by far the most interesting part of the movie for me. Boseman puts in an astounding performance, heightened by the fact that it’s his last ever, as he sadly passed away in 2020. He has one long monologue where he talks about his mother being raped by a group of white men that is incredibly emotional and perhaps the most well acted moment of the whole movie.
While I can appreciate the impact of the movie and the phenomenal performances, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was not as compelling as I hoped it would be. To go back to my previous assertion, I rarely like movies that have been adapted from a play. Plays and movies are two different mediums and only seldom are they able to cross over with success. Had I seen this as a play, I feel I would have enjoyed it more. As a movie, it just didn’t hit the same. There were a few points where I was bored as I waited for lengthy monologues that went nowhere. This isn’t a knock on the actors or the director. I think plays just do better on the stage rather than being filmed as movies. You should see Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom to witness two phenomenal performances by Davis and Boseman, but go into it knowing that it is a play adaptation and may lack the movie magic you’re accustomed to.
Film or Movie: Movie
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You’re a fan of August Wilson
2. You like to marvel at acting performances
3. You like movies that are dialogue heavy
