Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom ★★★ 1/2

Staring: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, and Michael Potts

Directed by: George C. Wolfe

Tagline: Everything comes out in the blues

stellar cast anchors the drama in the Netflix film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom as George C. Wolfe brings the acclaimed August Wilson play to the big screen.

Inspired by the life of legendary blues singer Gertrude “Ma” Rainey (portrayed here by a terrific Viola Davis), the film takes us to 1920s’ Chicago for a contemplative exploration of race, religion, prejudice, and trauma.

A fictionalized recording session serves as the basic setting of the story.

As Ma Rainey’s backing band – pianist Toledo (Glynn Turman), trombonist Cutler (Colman Domingo), and bassist Slow Drag (Michael Potts) – await the singer’s arrival at the recording studio, their tardy trumpeter Levee (a mesmerizing Chadwick Boseman) shows up and starts ruffling feathers with his overconfidence and ambition. Levee has big plans for his future, which include, but are not limited to, lending his own spin to Ma’s music and leading his own band.

Ma, when she finally arrives, is quick to assert her authority. Not only is she miffed by Levee’s behaviour and his amorous advances towards her girl Dussie Mae (Taylour Paige), but she is also in a power tussle with the two white men – her manager Irvin (Jeremy Shamos) and producer Sturdyvant (Jonny Coyne) – who are trying to control her career and sound.

As the day progresses, egos clash, traumas resurface, and tensions boil over. Many of the dialogue-heavy film’s most powerful scenes unfold in the band’s practice room, several in the form of intense, emotional monologues, as it becomes apparent how their past experiences and sufferings are still casting a shadow on the lives of these men.

It helps immensely that the cast is brilliant. Davis does a masterful job embodying the talented, smart, astute, brash and boisterous Ma Rainey. Boseman delivers what may just be his finest, and is sadly his final performance, bringing compelling shades and complexity to Levee. A solid supporting cast (Turman, Domingo, Potts – all wonderful) also ensures that the emotional beats land.

As a cinematic work, however, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom seems a little unwilling to take advantage of the medium the story is being transitioned to, opting instead to stick to a structure that remains firmly embedded in theatre. The movie does capture the intimacy and passion of the theatrical experience, but also often feels less like a film and more like a filmed stage production.

Then again, the staginess might have been a bigger quibble had the material been in the hands of a lesser cast. Perhaps the project could have benefited from a screenplay that did a more dynamic job translating the material from stage to screen, but as it stands, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom serves as a terrific actors’ showcase while making a forceful impact with its well-crafted characters, resonant themes, and emotional weight.

Rating system: ★Not on your life ★½ If you really must waste your time ★★ Hardly worth the bother ★★½ Okay for a slow afternoon only
★★★ Good enough for a look see ★★★½ Recommended viewing ★★★★ Don’t miss it ★★★★½ Almost perfect ★★★★★Perfection