Review of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) by Ahmedaiman1999 — 19 Jan 2021

Like 2016's Fences, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a Viola Davis's starring film adaptation of an August Wilson play. From its limited setting (and by that I refer to the sets as well as the time) and the complete reliance on the dialogue in its storytelling approach, I could easily tell after a couple of minutes into the movie that it was originally a play—for better or worse.

Whilst the theatrical nature sometimes managed to render some scenes a musical flavour that proved refreshing and invigorating, they hindered the cinematic form—and in turn experience— and restrained the real power of August's work, preventing it from fully fleshing out. Consequently, we are only able to sense glimpses of the play's dramatic heft. Likewise, the importance of Wilson's message, which can be applied to social and political climate, is blatantly undermined by the movie's lack of cinematic feel. Granted, Davis and Boseman's characters here are formidable driving forces that redeemed many of these shortcomings. Ma Rainey and Levee, played by Davis and Boseman respectively, are like two opposites that share a common purpose. They have some kind of a tumultuous relationship due to a number of reasons, one of them is their different approaches of dealing with white capitalists. Viola Davis further cements her as an actress who is capable of topping herself over and over again. She makes it look easy to just disappear into many different characters or carry a movie with just her bona fide acting. And I believe that her performance as the eponymous character here should garner her an Oscar nod at the very least. That said, she definitely didn't carry this movie single-handedly as the late Chadwick Boseman delivered what might be the finest performance in his short yet diverse career. Interestingly, I believe that his theatrical performance here did actually bolster the emotional side of the story and, by and large, the viewing experience. This is a performance that's indisputably worthy to earn him a posthumous Oscar.