Powerhouse performances hit right note for Oscar glory
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
15, 94 mins Rating
8/10 Damon Smith
IN a year which has galvanised global support for the Black Lives Matter movement, a film version of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom — the second entr y of August Wilson’s 10-strong cycle of plays documenting the African American experience — was always destined to be a cultural touchstone.
The death of Chadwick Boseman in August, four years af ter a colon cancer diagnosis which he kept private from Black Panther fans, intensifies the emotional resonance of George C Wolfe’s beautifully craf ted picture and solidifies this study of white exploitation in 1927 Chicago as a frontrunner for the 2021 Academy Awards.
An elegant dedication to Boseman “in celebration of his artistr y and heart” af ter the screen fades to black acknowledges a powerhouse final performance.
As a fier y-tempered trumpeter, who is scarred by tragedy as a child and blinded by ambition as a broken man, he doesn’t strike a single false note and delivers a centrepiece monologue with tightly coiled despair and f ury.
In the show y title role, Viola Davis bristles with righteous indignation as her bisexual singer fights openly for ever y privilege that her God-given talent affords her.
Four musicians — trombonist Cutler (Colman Domingo), trumpeter Levee (Boseman), bassist Slow Drag (Michael Potts) and pianist Toledo (Glynn Turman) — arrive at a recording studio to prepare for a session with formidable singer Ma Rainey (Davis).
Before Ma arrives, Levee tells other members of the band that he intends to branch out on his own.
Cutler reminds the ambitious upstart of his responsibilities but Levee refuses to surrender a tight grasp on his dream. When Ma finally blows in from the street with her stuttering nephew (Dusan Brown) and companion Dussie Mae (Taylor Paige) in tow, her volcanic temper prickles studio producers Sturdy vant (Jonny Coyne) and Ir vin (Jeremy Shamos). The heat inside the studio rises and Levee’s arrogance puts him on a collision path with Ma and the band.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom doesn’t stray far from strong theatrical roots and director Wolfe avoids f lashy improvisations behind the camera. He has the benefit of the sheet music of myriad stage productions including an Olivier Award-winning 2016 revival at the National Theatre in London, which ran 40 minutes longer and allowed underlying tensions to simmer before turning up the heat to a f urious boil.