"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" Review: A History Lesson
Knowing our history is important. As a human race, regionally, locally, and right down to your family unit’s history. It tells us where we’ve come from, lessons learned along the way, and perhaps where we’re headed. August Wilson penned a ten play series collectively known as The Pittsburgh Cycle which beautifully documents a part of history for Black America. The contrast of the events and themes that have taken place in America in 2020 in regards to race and the themes that are dealt with in this film adaptation of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” make the film, but more so the plays, that much more powerful.
In 1927 Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) was a voice to behold! Dubbed the “Mother of Blues”, she sang the pains and joys of her people from her soul. Director George C. Wolfe captures a fictional day in the life of the singer and her band as she’s brought to Chicago for a recording session. The boys in the band consist of Levee (Chadwick Boseman), Toledo (Glynn Turman), Cutler (Colman Domingo), and Slow Drag (Michael Potts), and they’re all waiting for Ma to arrive. As they wait, Levee, the promising young trumpet player with a burning desire to do and be more, tries to convince the band to play the songs with a little added flavor he’s created.
When she finally makes her fashionably-extremely late entrance, Ma brings her nephew Sylvester (Dusan Brown) and her lover, Dussie Mae (Taylour Paige). Ma makes it clear that she is on time because her time is the right time and the studio is lucky to have her in their presence. She also makes it clear that the music will be played the way it was originally written to Levee’s chagrin.
The majority of the film takes place in either the recording studio or the basement of the studio where the band gathers while waiting. While initially you may forget that this was adapted from the stage, there are certainly moments that will remind you, as the story is not told visually. The focus of the story is on the words. The telling of and analyzation of struggle. In perhaps the most talked about scene in the film, Ma explains why she won’t start to sing without the coca-cola she asked for in the studio. “They don’t care nothin’ about me,” she states. “All they want is my voice. Well I done learned that, and they gonna treat me the way I wanna be treated no matter how much it hurt them.”
It’s so interesting to watch a black woman, at that time, with such a confident, “play with me if you want to, but I’ll show you who is boss” attitude. We’ve become trained to believe that she is being “difficult”, demanding, and could possibly “get in trouble” with the white studio executives. Yet, at her core, she is simply demanding to be treated like a human being rather than a commodity. Which goes back to the importance of Wilson’s work.
As far as performances go, the entire cast gives great performances. Viola Davis shows why she’s one of the best actresses of our time. I’ve enjoyed the way she has spoken out about pay inequity between her and Meryl Streep as of late. Davis stated that off-screen she’s starting to speak up more and go after what she wants in a recent press conference held by Netflix for the film. It’s obvious that she stepped into the role with a certain kinship with Ma Rainey that comes through on screen.
It would be a shame to not mention this film is Chadwick Boseman’s last on screen, and what a bittersweet performance it is! Before he was Black Panther, he was playing dramatic roles of important black figures. In fact, 42 was one of the first films I reviewed with Picture Lock in 2013. Here, Boseman crafts the essence of young talent that shows up as arrogance due to a chip on his shoulder built from life’s challenges. In an electric scene, Levee rages at God for not being there during pivotal moments in his life. It’s a moment of gut level honesty that we may have in our private thoughts that he brings to life in a memorable way. While it’s sad that we lost him this year, he put it all on the line in the films he was involved in, without complaint.
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is an analyzation of white exploitation of Black culture and Black voices. It’s a sad history that has been documented in history books and film. Wolfe and his cast do a great job of capturing the essence of Wilson’s work and putting it before us to dissect. A tip of the hat goes to Denzel Washington for his commitment to bringing all 10 plays to the screen. This is important history, that I likely would not have known if not for the film.
Rating: A
