After Chadwick Boseman’s far too early passing, everyone’s eyes have been on Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, his last onscreen performance. The Netflix film leaves us with a testament to his talents, and is truly one for the ages.
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The synopsis of the film describes the plot as follows:
Chicago, 1927. A recording session. Tensions rise between Ma Rainey (Viola Davis), her ambitious horn player (Chadwick Boseman), and the white management determined to control the legendary “Mother of the Blues.” (Netflix)
Ma Rainey And Her Band
Chadwick Boseman is the clear standout of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. He delivered an acting masterclass. His two monologues will be remembered for a long time. His electrifying, heartfelt and energetic performance will and should be give him well deserved awards recognition. Viola Davis also delivered a fantastic performance, even though she was way less onscreen as I expected, but her role simply couldn’t have been played better, the same goes for Boseman’s role as Levee. The rest of the supporting cast also delivered amazing performance, my favourite being from Colman Domingo.
Production wise, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom doesn’t have anything to hide. The production design is simple but beautifully made. Same goes for the costumes and the score. Just the editing felt a bit rough here and there.
The movie definitely knows it’s roots as its pretty obvious that it’s based on a play, as a lot of scenes are long, but energetic dialogues taking place in the same room. The dialogue is fantastically written, which is why the relatively slow paced movie will never get boring, even for more general audiences.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a showcase of acting masterclasses and should be a must watch for anybody who wants to see one of this years best movies.
4/5
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is based on the play with the same name by August Wilson. It was directed by George C. Wolfe and stars: Chadwick Boseman, Viola Davis, Colman Domingo, Michael Potts, Glynn Turman, Dusan Brown and Taylour Paige.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is globally available on Netflix.
What do you guys think? Are you planning to watch it? Which is your favourite performance by Chadwick Boseman? Let’s discuss everything in the comments down below and on our Twitter.
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