"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" makes up for it's weak plotting with stellar performances, and sharp dialogue
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” Film Review
80/100 “sweet”
By Quinn Marcus
A few months ago, another tragedy befell us in the year 2020, Chadwick Boseman’s death. Although devastating, we soon found out that he still had one final performance in store for fans like me. Well, I just witnessed what will sadly be Boseman’s crowning achievement. I’m going to try to stay off of the topic of his death, and try to focus on the review even though it may be hard to write about. This film satisfied me on almost every level, and surprisingly, Boseman’s death didn’t overshadow the movie, there’s just too much to like about it. Of course, there were certain scenes that I’ll talk about later that hit different after his death, but overall, I felt generally fine watching it. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom saved the mostly embarrassing final half of 2020, one of my least favorite years in terms of movies. Seriously, in 2019 we got Parasite, 1917, Avengers: Endgame, WHAT HAPPENED?! A sizable portion of my top 100 films came from 2019, and 2020 was one big disappointment, mainly due to COVID of course. I don’t know how 2021 is going to go, but I hope it’s better than this steaming pile of poop. 2020 has made quality films rare, that’s pretty damn sad, but thanks to Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series, and now this, I have hope again. To be fair, this is not a perfect movie, there were plenty of flaws, but for 2020, a semi-flawed film is a god.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom tells the story of renowned blues singer of the 1920s, Ma Rainey, and her teaming up with her band to record her album. However, as the temperatures rise in this tightly cramped studio, so do tensions between Ma Rainey and her trumpet player, Levee.
It’s not a very complex plot as you could probably tell from the summary, and most of the flaws that I had with the film came from the story. So, what were these particular flaws, you may ask. Unfortunately, at times, the movie really does feel like a play, the set designs, even some of the dialogue felt like something out of Broadway. It’s only when we’re given occasional shots of the city or the skyline when we’re taken out of that staged feel. There are many scenes that seem like they could be presented on stage, the film doesn’t go anywhere, for some, that could be claustrophobic, for others, different. I personally found it weird, but not exactly in a good way. I know this film was based on the famous play, but it could have done better to separate itself from that world. Another issue I had was the beat-by-beat execution of the plot. I saw the story more as a series of events thinly strung together by immaculate performances and smart dialogue. Once again, there are going to be some people who enjoy that, I just wasn’t really one of them.
Despite the mistakes made in the making, there are still plenty of positives to be found with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Firstly, let’s talk about that script written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. This guy wrote some of the best scenes I’ve seen in the past few years. An example being when Chadwick Boseman’s character yells at god, shouting about how god turned his back on him. While extremely hard to watch, the screenplay provides so many fantastic moments to help elevate these marvelously crafted characters. Each character was so specific and entertaining to watch, and the band has so many hilarious conversations together, at least in the beginning. Another thing the script did right was building the tone. The film takes its time to grow its characters, and doesn’t shift its tone too quickly, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom slowly descends into darkness, making for a dramatic, harrowing conclusion. The directing by George C. Wolfe, most known for his work as a Tony-winning playwright was really solid. He set up his shots well, and the film unexpectedly looks pretty damn good.
My favorite aspect of this film was the cast. The standouts easily being Boseman and Viola Davis. Chadwick Boseman is award-worthy as Levee, this performance only proves that he was getting closer to the peak of stardom, until his untimely death. However, his charisma still shines through, and partially thanks to the writing, he has some incredible scenes to act. He has a whole monologue where he talks about a gang of white men who came to his house to hurt his mom, and the emotional intensity present in those few minutes was astounding. This is truly one of, if not, the best performance of his short career. Meanwhile, Viola Davis, playing Ma Rainey, is just awesome from start to finish. She owns her role with passion, and despite not exactly being the main character as the title suggests, she pulls off the character almost effortlessly. This was an ensemble filled to the brim with talent, fabulous performances all around that could end up being my favorites of the year.
The final verdict is: Although boasting lesser storytelling, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the perfect sendoff to an acting legend, and serves as a well-written, nicely directed film that is entertaining as well as intense…$PLURGE IT!