Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a Netflix produced drama, based on the play of the same name by August Wilson.  It is a loose biography that depicts one day in the life of “The Mother of Blues”, Ma Rainey in the 1920s. Produced by Denzel Washington, staring Viola Davis and Chadwick Bosemanin, in his final film. The movie opens on a sweltering hot day in 1920s Chicago as Ma and her band encounter the ups and downs of internal and external tensions as they record a few of her hit songs.

Acting from the entire cast was superb; they all played well off each other and brought something unique and interesting to each personality. The character development was strong with Viola and Chadwick carrying this movie with greatness. Viola brought a fierceness to the role of Ma Rainey. She was strong in her convictions, confident, business savvy, and refused to be treated less than; she knew her talent and her wroth. Chadwick's delivery of the script was emotionally charged and powerful; with some critics calling this his “swan song”. He dove deep into the role, bringing a rawness and a vulnerability, to the point where you didn’t see Chadwick; all you saw was his character, Levee.

The sets, costumes and make up were well done. The designers did a great job in helping to truly transport you to that era.

For those who didn’t see the movie adaptation of August Wilson’s Fences, there will be a bit of getting used to the delivery of the script. The writing felt like a direct translation of the play, so it was very heavy in dialogue with parts that felt unnecessarily exaggerated. Additionally, the end was a bit rushed and unrealistic.

With all of that being said, the life of Ma Rainey is not one that is often depicted in film or television so it was great to see a day in a part of her story presented by one of the most talented modern day actors. Even with a couple of dropped balls I still felt like this was a very interesting snapshot and one worth checking out.