Mama knows best~Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Review

This review was written before London was entered into tier 4.

I don’t have classes on Tuesdays and now that London’s has been placed into tier 3 from Wednesday, I decide to spend my last day of freedom at the cinemas-because honestly where else would you find me? I end up selecting Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. I know I can watch it on Netflix in a few days, but I just couldn’t wait. Plus, I am also a firm believer that everything hits different on the big screen, I owe it to Chadwick. The story follows the mother of blues music, Ma Rainey, as she and her band record their first studio album in late 1920s Chicago. The film is based off the stage play of the same name written by the legendary August Wilson, who wrote a series of 10 plays documenting the experience of African American people in the 20th century, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom amongst them. Coincidentally, he also wrote the play Fences which Viola Davis starred in on Broadway in 2010 and reprised her role for the film adaptation 6 years later.

The eponymous Ma Rainey is played by Viola Davis in yet another stand out performance. It’s no secret that Viola is a star, she never gives a bad performance…ever. As Ma she commands the audience’s attention: her glistening rings, her golden teeth and her fabulous outfits. She is the most important person in every room she steps into, she calls all the shots and never takes no for an answer. The choice to represent Ma as an out Lesbian was a bold one. For the most part, queer characters in period films fall into two categories. The first is fragile and unsure of themselves and the second is villainous, as we know lots of villains are coded as queer. But Ma is unashamed of her attraction to Dussie Mae (Taylour Paige) who is just charming.

Although Ma Rainey is billed as the main character it is the talented cornet player Levee-played by the late great Chadwick Boseman who steals the show. When he first appears on screen I was taken by his twinkly eyes and a smile reaching from ear to ear, it was like the sun was peaking out from behind the clouds and my own smile started to grow from underneath my mask and tears started to spill out of my eyes like a melancholy soup that’s been left to bubble over unsupervised. Boseman’s performance kept me on my toes the entire duration of this film, he is tender, joyous, enraged and envious and can turn on his emotions like a dime. He delivers his monologues to the band (played perfectly by Michael Potts, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo and little Dusan Brown) like he could spit fire and burn everyone who has ever wronged him to ashes. Chadwick did not hold back, not even for a second.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is spearheaded by two forceful performances, but it lacks in terms of a bigger storyline. Racism is present throughout the entire film, the characters swapping stories of horrific racist attacks, the microaggression of the recording studios head Mel Sturdyvant and the shocking ending which reminds us to always take ownership of your own art, especially if you underrepresented in your field of work. The majority of the film takes place in one location- the recording studio, whilst this works great in the stage play of this film every time a character begins to weave a story the pacing slams to a break like someone had pulled the emergency brakes on a fast-moving train. If the performances weren’t so captivating, I fear that this would have irritated me. The world building of 1927 Chicago is evoked by the technology, costuming and slang but I really wanted to see the world. Get out off that stuffy studio and Let’s go to a smoky hole in the wall Jazz club and get dizzy on some champagne! But I do admire the choice to stick to the original setting.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is available to stream on Netflix Now.

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