X
- 2020
- R
- Netflix
- 1 h 34 m
- 2020
- R
- Netflix
- 1 h 34 m
Summary Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey (Viola Davis). Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of h...
Directed By: George C. Wolfe
Written By: Ruben Santiago-Hudson, August Wilson
- 2020
- R
- Netflix
- 1 h 34 m
- 2020
- R
- Netflix
- 1 h 34 m
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
6.7
Where to Watch
Summary Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey (Viola Davis). Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of h...
Directed By: George C. Wolfe
Written By: Ruben Santiago-Hudson, August Wilson
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal acclaim
Based on 46 Critic Reviews
87
93% Positive
43 Reviews
43 Reviews
7% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal acclaim
Based on 46 Critic Reviews
87
93% Positive
43 Reviews
43 Reviews
7% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
It’s also a celebration of language — Wilson’s glorious storytelling is given its due by this masterful ensemble cast, who weave colorful tapestries with his words — and of music’s transformative power.
The film takes place largely in two down and dirty rooms, the recording studio and a basement where the band rehearses, but it doesn’t feel stage bound. Wolfe finds the right balance between letting Wilson’s trademark monologues flow and shooting them in a cinematic way that keeps the film moving.
User Score
Generally favorable
Based on 174 User Ratings
6.7
65% Positive
113 Ratings
113 Ratings
21% Mixed
36 Ratings
36 Ratings
14% Negative
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
User Score
Generally favorable
Based on 174 User Ratings
6.7
65% Positive
113 Ratings
113 Ratings
21% Mixed
36 Ratings
36 Ratings
14% Negative
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
A better play than a film, it nonetheless has outstanding performances and reminds us of what we've lost in Boseman's death. RIP.
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[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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It’s a brilliant performance, Boseman coaxing so many emotions and feelings out of a deceptively complex character. His expressive eyes tell a lot of the story for him.
Watching a film knowing it will be the last time you see a true talent immortalized on screen is a wildly moving experience. And with Ma Rainey – a film that is stacked with talent, chemistry and life – fans of Boseman couldn’t ask for a better goodbye.
Led by two powerhouse performances, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom soars when it lets its stars shine, hitting the audience with a gut punch of emotions.
Even when the larger world that surrounds them is fuzzily rendered, when Wilson, Wolfe, Davis, Boseman and all those fabulous actors past and present are serving as our guides, gaining entrance into such uneasy places feels like a true gift.
Ma Rainey postures toward being an actor’s showcase, but its storytelling — and its actorly pitfalls — prohibit that from being the reality.
This wasn't as good as I was hoping. Viola Davis's screen presence was superb, however, but the rest of the picture was a drag. I didn't very much care for the long, dragged out scenes with all the yammering and bickering between the band members. It felt like the story was more about THEM than Ma Rainey. I didn't care for the ending either - how it just dropped off the way it did, and Viola should've had a bigger part. With a stronger script and more of Viola, this film would have scored much better with me.... but we got what we got!
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When all the makings **** film are in place, one expects to see an outstanding picture. Unfortunately, that's not the case with "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." While most of its ingredients are indeed noteworthy -- superb production values, stellar writing, and the positively exceptional performances by Chadwick Boseman (his final role), Viola Davis and Glynn Turman -- the components just don't mesh into a cohesive whole. Instead, viewers get an overly stagey production that consists of a series of insightful and eloquent soliloquies interspersed among occasional (though one might easily say far too few) musical numbers and meticulously orchestrated comic relief moments. Regrettably, the finished product feels more like parts of a story that got haphazardly glued together rather than a harmoniously blended composite, essentially a day in the life of the Mother of the Blues and the various individuals she interacted with on that day but not offering much depth about the relevance, meaning or legacy of those involvements. Consequently, despite the film's strengths, viewers are likely to come away from this offering wanting more than they get, and that's unfortunate, both for audiences and for Ma Rainey, both of whom definitely deserve better.
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This was one of my highly anticipated films. With a cast lead by Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman based on play by August Wilson, I was prepared for greatness but was disappointed. The main reasons this film didn’t succeed was due to the direction and screen adaption of the play. There were several films this year based on plays but Ma Rainey was the one that failed to translate to the screen.
Boseman was engaging, he along with the band members were the most interesting part of the film. With no disrespect, Boseman’s performance felt stagey as if he was trying to convey a major scene by emoting louder and faster. I thought I accidentally missed Davis’ scenes because she was hardly in the film. I believe in quality over quantity but even with that consideration her role didn’t make a lasting impact I would expect from a leading role. And Davis’ lip syncing didn’t help her performance. I realize the sense of claustrophobia in the band room is to reflect society’s oppression but overall the film felt stunted and never fully realized.
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I hate to speak ill of the dead but Chadwick is not good in this movie. He does alot of shouting and talking about racism but thats about it. Viola is actually very good when she shows up and i enjoyed the parts which involved her alot more. The production design looks like a cheap made for tv movie and the only good thing was the costumes.
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Production Company
Escape Artists,
Mundy Lane Entertainment,
Netflix
Release Date Nov 25, 2020
Duration 1 h 34 m
Rating R
Tagline Everything Comes Out in the Blues.
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 2 Wins & 5 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Latino Entertainment Journalists Association Film Awards
• 3 Wins & 10 Nominations
