It would be an empty world without the blues.
Tensions rise when the trailblazing Mother of the Blues and her band gather at a Chicago recording studio in 1927. Adapted from August Wilson's play.
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Character
Intimate, earnest, grave and contemplative.
- intimateepic
- earnestironic
- gravecomic
- contemplativerelentless
- unpretentiousprestige
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“Is Viola Davis the best thing in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom?”
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“Does the smallness hold it back?”
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“Is Ma Rainey's Black Bottom prestige bait?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Sep 20266/10
Set on a hot and humid afternoon in Chicago, this tells the tale of rising temperatures at a recording session by the eponymous blues singer (Viola Davis). She's already an huge success but is having difficulry asserting ownership over her own material and ensuring she gets paid properly for her music. Meantime, in another room her assembled backing musicians are increasingly treading on eggshells around each other as the waiting begins to pit them against each other. Most irritable of all seems to be the young "Levee" (Chadwick Boseman) who has ambitions of his own - both behind the microphone and with one of Ma's favourites (Taylour Paige), a woman who is quite happy to string him along. Trying to moderate his increasingly eccentric behaviour are "Toledo" (Glynn Turman) and "Cutler" (Colman Domingo) but as the afternoon rolls on, it appears that there is nobody in this room without demons of some sort or other. It's based on August Wilson's play and it really does look like it; indeed if you were to have filmed it as per one of those National Theatre live style of operations it might be hard to tell the difference later in the cinema. There are speeches, monologues if you like, p
Read the whole review on TMDB - Andre Wilfred Sanderson TMDB · Apr 20238/10
**Viola Davis as the Queen of the Blues** The events of the film take place on the 1st day in the year 1927, and one place is a recording studio for music albums. We start with the preparation of the studio for the blues legend Marini, accompanied by her close entourage, and a team of musicians led by the ambitious young man, Levee, who has a new and open perspective on the relationship of black artists to the recording studios run by whites, which is a conflicting perspective. Wholly with Ma Rainey's personal vision. This conflict with other conflicts govern the events of this difficult day. The movie that comes to mind most when you watch this movie is (Fences 2016). The two films are based on two plays by August Wilson. The similarities between the two films can be caught in the general atmosphere of the two films. You will find the theatrical atmosphere in addition to the embodiment of the ambition of the black community, which August Wilson was concerned with embodying in different periods of American history. Ma Rainey is a violent and cruel character who uses all the tools at her disposal to achieve her goals and clings to all her rights, starting from her money to a bottle
Read the whole review on TMDB - Manuel São Bentoon TMDB · Dec 20208/10
If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @ https://www.msbreviews.com Usually, at the end of each year, I prepare my watchlist for the next twelve months. Obviously, no matter how many movies I add to the list, I know dozens of more films will be announced and released throughout the year. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is one of them. I didn’t know a thing about this flick, but it received the always interesting awards buzz, which turned it into a mandatory viewing before Christmas comes around. I went in knowing only one thing: this is Chadwick Boseman’s (Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War) last appearance after he passed away a few months ago. I really didn’t know what to expect from this Netflix’s Oscar-bait, but I was afraid that Boseman’s nomination chances were high only due to what happened in real-life instead of him truly deserving that recognition… Well, I can safely and confidently write that Boseman delivers his career-best interpretation, and it wouldn’t be unfair for him to get tons of awards posthumously. From an impeccable accent to his mind-blowing emotional range, passing through long monologues and uncut takes effortlessly, Boseman is the
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Cast
- Viola DavisMa Rainey
- Chadwick BosemanLevee
- Colman DomingoCutler
- Glynn TurmanToledo
- Michael PottsSlow Drag
- Jeremy ShamosIrvin
- Jonny CoyneSturdyvant
- Taylour PaigeDussie Mae
- Dusan BrownSylvester
- Joshua HartoPoliceman
Crew
- George C. WolfeDirector
- Ruben Santiago-HudsonScreenplay
- Tobias A. SchliesslerDirector of Photography
- Branford MarsalisOriginal Music Composer
- Andrew MondsheinEditor
- Dany WolfProducer
- Denzel WashingtonProducer
- Todd BlackProducer
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Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
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The House of Mr Chocolate 202173% alikeGame · Both intimate, earnest, contemplative.
To the Moon 201170% alikeGame · Both earnest, intimate, grave.
Often watched with
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