Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)'s comments

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nowhereman136

Boseman gives us one last amazing performance. Great cast all around and cinematography that really makes the confined and dim space seem very vibrant and focused. The problem comes with it being a stage adaptation. Its shorter than than the stage version by almost an hour and it feels like some of its more dramatic moments are rushed in

7/10

3 years 4 months ago

baraka92

Just good. Loved seeing Chadwick Boseman one last time (he's fire in this!); but no amount of good performances, sets and costumes can disguise the fact that this is little more than “filmed theatre” (See also August: Osage County and Fences). It’s still worth your time.

3 years 4 months ago

ucuruju

The performances are amazing but the ending is so bad and forced (the sort of cliché ending "serious" plays have been using for about a thousand years) that it retroactively makes almost everything that came before it a waste of time. I could also tell this was a play even before the credits confirmed it. It does feel like "filmed theatre" but at the very least they could've given us "filmed theatre" with an ending that makes sense. spoiler

3 years 2 months ago

Forzelius

If it keeps on Raineyng, the Levee's going to break

3 years ago

Siskoid

There's no doubt when you watch the film version of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom that it started life as a play - in particular how people go into monologues - but some of the talkiness is mitigated by the musical numbers which are terrific. I know August Wilson isn't that kind of dramatist, but it almost wants to be a musical at times (there's one song that could be diagetic). In any case, this is a story about stepping on other people's shoes, which happens literally, but also metaphorically, in several ways. At the top level is the White Man theft of Black Music, but in the small niche afforded black performers (itself a niche for the success afforded African-Americans), everyone's jockeying for position, pulling on the blanket, call it what you will, stepping on each other's shoes. But that's only because someone has decided not to give everyone space that's readily available. That said, you're watching this for the performances. Everyone's good, and Viola Davis is a powerhouse, playing Ma as a terrifying prima donna, except the no, not prima donna - the motivation is different. In his last role, Chadwick Boseman is giving everything he's got, and it's almost hard to watch, knowing the state of his health. It's the kind of high-energy performance you might give if you didn't need to leave anything in the tank. All safeties off.

3 years 1 month ago

boulderman

Davis is great, but felt like she was Denzel (who is impersonable as Leo or Marc Wahl). Chadwick was indeed great. I wondered why they had to do "sure is" when it was known they were made in the Golden Age to deliberately speak grammatically incorrect....more to follow

It's a very good awareness film for (historic) racism. Felt like the play it was but not as much as Fences (seen films closer to the play elements there were, that's a compliment!)

There's drama but felt like there was just a mcguffin to get there

2 years 11 months ago

frankqb

Chadwick Boseman proves he was a force to be reckoned with in this film. Viola Davis is as good, but the material doesn't do much to let her shine (though the movie set's lights do).

This adaptation of Wilson's play shows the themes of that work are just as important as they were 25 years ago when the stage show premiered. It's the story of America: Post-Slavery African Americans vs. White Capitalism. Is recording the music of black recording artists by capitalists just another way to make money off their labour? The film doesn't answer that question directly, but it's nonetheless important to ask. The story is that of America: Sex, art, philosophy, science, violence, racism, it's all there. It's life. The themes are just as sharp and relevant today.

Unfortunately, the film doesn't quite knock it out of the park. The recordings are well done, the costumes and sets are super, but something about how the direction pushes the thematic elements, is found to be lacking. It does give Chadwick Boseman a great opportunity for a final performance. He will undoubtedly get a posthmous Oscar nomination, possibly the win. He will be missed.

4 stars out of 5

3 years 4 months ago

ahmetaslan27

Viola Davis as the Queen of the Blues

The events of the film take place on the 1st day in the year 1927, and one place is a recording studio for music albums. We start with the preparation of the studio for the blues legend Marini, accompanied by her close entourage, and a team of musicians led by the ambitious young man, Levee, who has a new and open perspective on the relationship of black artists to the recording studios run by whites, which is a conflicting perspective. Wholly with Ma Rainey's personal vision. This conflict with other conflicts govern the events of this difficult day.

The movie that comes to mind most when you watch this movie is (Fences 2016). The two films are based on two plays by August Wilson. The similarities between the two films can be caught in the general atmosphere of the two films. You will find the theatrical atmosphere in addition to the embodiment of the ambition of the black community, which August Wilson was concerned with embodying in different periods of American history.

Ma Rainey is a violent and cruel character who uses all the tools at her disposal to achieve her goals and clings to all her rights, starting from her money to a bottle of Coca-Cola, while Levee's personality is a little lighter, manipulative, and has a tendency to pride in himself, but he does not find any barrier to fraud to achieve his goals as well. The two characters have goals and have a history.

It is a 100% pivotal movie, with the exception of some songs and some kinetic scenes that are characterized by a theatrical nature that I liked very much, and this is not favored by some, contrary to what I liked about the movie.

The film was filmed to keep pace with a period of time in which it is related to fashion, cars, decoration, and the musical instruments used, and all of these things were implemented with the utmost perfection, and most of these complications were implemented in short scenes. The dialogues were wonderful and effective, and it is strange that it is the least associated with the theatrical atmosphere, and this was evidence of the genius of August Wilson.

The film's handling of sub-themes was also incredibly impressive, reflecting the dynamism of filming studios and the scales and levers of power. Who is the decision-maker and who has the strongest personality in the studio to influence decision-making?

The characters of the film are certainly limited, but they are certainly effective. Everyone, without exception, takes their turn under the spotlight, since we are talking about the stage. But the longest moments and the most prominent performance between the actors were certainly Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. Contemplating Chadwick Boseman's performance, he is certainly a hardworking actor and has done great things despite his young age

1 year ago

BadFluffy

Really couldn't get into that one. The direction was so forceful, it felt like a bad play, which I'm sure it wasn't.

The acting was certainly not to blame but the amateurish editing, long strenuous closeups, and poor adaptation took from the performances instead of enhancing them.

3 years 3 months ago

jlfitz

streaming on Netflix

2 years 3 months ago