Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
2020
**
Director: George C. Wolfe
Cast: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, Michael Potts, Jonny Coyne, Taylour Paige, Jeremy Shamos, Dusan Brown

In the 1920s, famous Blues diva Ma Rainey arrives in Chicago for a tumultuous recording session. From the get-go, there is tension between Ma and her cocky trumpeter Levee, who is dreaming of forming his own band so he can play his own songs. A few minutes in, it is clear that this tedious but beautifully staged period drama is based on a stage play, on August Wilson's 1982 play, to be exact. The central theme appears to be that black people can be successful, but only on white people's terms. This message gets somewhat lost in a film which is minimally cinematic and filled with big, broad, and wordy performances. Many of the characters deliver long and emotional monologues, which rang hollow to me. The dramatic twist in the end also feels forced. An Academy Award winner best makeup and hair and costumes. This is Chadwick Boseman's final film.