Revealing and remarkable look at black America in the 1920s
Film Critic Jason Evans is here to tell you everything you
need to know about movies in exactly 100 words. Here is his 100 word review of Ma
Rainey’s Black Bottom.
The Premise: The film takes place over the course of one afternoon
at a Chicago record company in the 1920s. Ma Rainey (Viola Davis), the “Mother
of the Blues”, is set to record her latest album. Her band, led by trombonist Cutler
(Coleman Domingo of Fear The Walking Dead), is waiting in the basement for
their lead singer to arrive. The most talented member of the band is the trumpet
player, Levee (Chadwick Boseman, in his final film role). While Ma fights with
her record producers over control of her music upstairs, the overconfident and
headstrong Levee clashes with his older, most experienced bandmates downstairs.
Through it all, we learn many truths about what it was like to be black in America
100 years ago.
The 100 Words: With sparse sets and plenty of dialogue, this feels you are like watching a play, but don’t let that turn you off. There are important messages here and perhaps the finest acting you will see on film this year. Boseman and Davis are shoe-ins to get Oscar nominations and I suspect others in the cast could also be recognized. For a film that is all talk, no action, I was glued to my seat listening to the stories and absorbing the atmosphere. This work of art is a powerful way to say goodbye to Chadwick Boseman. He will be missed.
What do you think? Reach out to Jason Evans on twitter @JasonDukeEvans to let him know.
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