PLOT:
Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey. Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music. As the band waits in the studio’s claustrophobic rehearsal room, ambitious trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman) – who has an eye for Ma’s girlfriend and is determined to stake his own claim on the music industry – spurs his fellow musicians into an eruption of stories revealing truths that will forever change the course of their lives. Adapted from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson’s play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom celebrates the transformative power of the blues and the artists who refuse to let society’s prejudices dictate their worth
REVIEW:
What did I like?
Am I blue? There are few movies about the blues out there and one can argue whether this is among the best, worst, or just mediocre. What is important is that it even bothers to touch the genre. It seems like most musician biopics we get nowadays are icons that in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or independent films about jazz musicians. I can’t remember the last one that was about a blues musician, offhand, and that it why it is important that someone gave us something from the genre. We need more biopics from every musical genre, jazz, rock, funk, country, classical, reggae, etc.
One last time. Earlier this year, we lost a great actor in Chadwick Boseman. I posted about it a while back. Go over and read it here. Unless I am mistaken, this is his last role (not counting some voice work on the upcoming Disney+ show, What if?) As time has gone by, I have seem questions about how good of an actor Boseman really was and why people were so sad about his passing. Well, from the performances I’ve seen, this is at or near the top. There is a fire, a passion, and a drive that he brings to this young, upstart trumpet player, Levee, as well as the stereotypical trumpet ego. Couple that with the banter he has with the other members of the band and Ma Rainey and it is a tragic joy to watch, making the audience realize he was just getting started before he was struck down with that horrible disease. I won’t mention his horrible attempt at faking playing a cornet, though.
For the culture. Speaking of the band, these are some older African American gentlemen. Boseman’s character is the young whipper-snapper of the group, if you will. As such, even though he is an immensely talented musician, he is not immune from the constant ribbing from his band mates. He can dish it out, as well, particular when it comes to his new shoes. The culture of musicians at this time, and to a certain extent sill goes on today, was to always look your finest. To the average viewer, the shoes were just a small subplot to get us through some exposition, but they actually represent something much bigger, and play a role in an event that happens at film’s end. I don’t wan to say this is limited to African American musicians, because white bands were just as vain, but it was more prevalent in the black community.
What didn’t I like?
Music, please. So, we have a movie about blues singer Ma Rainey. Great! You can expect to hear lots of hard hitting, make you sweat out of your clothes blues tunes, right? Wrong! There is very little music in this film. Making it worse, is the fact that the entirety of it takes place at a recording session. Don’t get me wrong. This need not be a musical, but not every knows who Ma Rainey is. Viola Davis, who is nigh unrecognizable, knocks the role out of the park. We get some pics of the real Ma and her band during the credits, but that’s it. With no mention of her legacy to the music world and the lack of music in the picture, they could have just made up a blues singer and have her come in for the few scenes for which they used Ma. It would have been better than the constant talking that goes on with this film as is.
The play’s the thing. Much like many that first saw the trailer/advertisements for this, I had no idea who Ma Rainey was (still don’t for the most part). I also didn’t know this was based on a play. As I mentioned earlier, there are scenes in which you can tell this comes from a play. The dialogue just feels more like it belongs on stage than screen. While there is nothing wrong with that, per se, this is a film adaptation, not a Broadway revival. As such, things need to change so that it can adapt to the medium. The long scenes that feel like they came straight from the play are great, but I felt that they were too elongated for a movie. Maybe that is just my ADD kicking in, though.
When the levee breaks. 1927 Chicago. No, there is nothing about prohibition, Al Capone, or even the forthcoming Great Depression. What is on display is a lot of racial issues. Now, I am not a fan of bringing race stuff into these movies unless it specifically needs it (12 years a Slave, Django Unchained, The Help, etc). With that said, “those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” The whole film we hear Ma and the band talk about how the white man like their music, but not them, how they wouldn’t do a thing for them if not for the records they sell, etc. To some this will fall on deaf ears….and then we get the scene where Levee gives us a little backstory (how is it we get backstory on a fictional character, but not Ma?) How it was a gang of white men who jumped his mother and caused his father to seriously injure him. This story gives us some insight into what drives Levee and we understand his plight, even feel sympathetic. Then, it happens….as the film comes to a close, we remember that Levee had talked about recording his songs with his own band. Yes, they are recorded, but by an all white band. A lot of people say this is something that should have been covered more in this film, not just for Levee, but also with Ma. It is was something happened on the regular (Elvis, Lynard Skynrd, the Beach Boys, Michael Bolton, etc) and kept happening for decades. Yet, all we saw about this important topic was a quick scene of a song that we never heard, but can assume it was Levee’s.
Final verdict:
What did I think of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom? First, Chadwick Boseman goes out with perhaps his greatest role, there is no question that even though this is supposed to be about Ma Rainey, he is the star of the film. Second, the film is great, but there are so many things that could/should have been touched on that weren’t. For me, I would have liked more music. It’s a movie about a blues singer. How dare we have music? *GASP* All that said, it may seem like I’m coming down hard on this film or that I didn’t like it, which is quite the opposite. I truly enjoyed this film and I highly recommend it. This is one of those films everyone needs to see and learn something from (or at least look at Viola Davis’ unavoidable cleavage!!!)
4 out of 5 stars
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