Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Premise - Legendary blues singer Ma Rainey is trying to record an album that includes her hit song "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." In the studio, tension arises when the band debates over which version of the song to play, and Ma's demands don't line up with one of the players.
Review - I knew this was originally a play before I started the film, based on interviews about it I had seen. Though, I would like to think that I'm attuned enough to different mediums that I would have realized this was supposed to be a play anyways. I know a friend of mine watched it without knowing anything about it and thought immediately to himself, "this must be a play."
It's because the scenes feel far too long to have been written for film, far too localized to certain sets, with interactions kept within a small group of characters. The plot moves forward through monologue rather than external events. And the monologues within this film are some of the best I have heard.
With this stylistic impression in mind, I had guessed that I would enjoy the film for what it was - character and acting exploration. I knew Chadwick Boseman would be a fantastic lead, as would Viola Davis. But honestly, up until perhaps the last third of the film, I did not care for a second about the actual plot. It was more just like listening to the poetry of the words being said.
When the impact of the plot started to sink in and many of the monologue themes started to click within the story, my favorability for the film increased drastically. I left the film so wildly effected by the consequences of the story and the characters. I also felt proud of myself for guessing one of the plot twists early on. When Levee gave away his sheet music to the White music producer, I literally cringed inside knowing he would steal Levee's ideas. When later on the music producer says he didn't like the style and no longer wanted to sign Levee, I just knew instinctively that he loved the music and wanted to take the credit. That was the unfortunate reality, and the film handles Black/White power relations with extraordinary insight.
Some of the larger themes of control, fear of the White man, free will, and God, really only became apparent to me in later scenes. The long monologue where Levee is going on about how God does not care for the Black man was frightening and unhinged. Chadwick Boseman really does deserve a post-mortem Oscar. Finally, themes of Black people being exclusively exploited for joy were also important, as Levee states that Black people deserve more than to just be blissfully happy.
I haven't spoken much about Viola Davis yet, who was my main inspiration for watching this film. I love her. The makeup was kind of horrifying in that she constantly looked drenched in sweat, but I liked how evocative it was. She was an interesting character who demanded a lot of control, seemingly having more power than anyone in the room, and yet we know it's an illusion as her control extends so far as she makes White people money.
This is absolutely a story I would watch on stage or read the screenplay for a closer examination. The dialogue is just so rich that I'm sure there is a lot I missed upon a first watch. (91/100)
Quote - This was hard to pick a singular quote because there are so many, LONG, and EXCELLENT, monologues in this film. So a quote is only a piece of it:
"Life ain't shit. You can put it in a paper bag and carry it around with
you. It ain't got no balls. Now death... . death got some style. Death
will kick your ass and make you wish you never been born. That's how bad
death is. But you can rule over life. Life ain't nothing."
What to watch for -
If you liked this film, I'd recommend other Black stories that were originally plays, like Fences or Raisin in the Sun! I've never seen the film adaptation of Fences, only read the screenplay, but Viola Davis was also in that.
Directed by George C. Wolfe
Distributed by Netflix
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