Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

The focus of the film is more on Levee, Chadwick Boseman’s character. It felt like Viola was the pull but I was left wanting to learn even more about Ma Rainey than before. However, that’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the film because I absolutely did.

The sense that we're beholden to the whims of unseen forces-that we're not the protagonists of our own stories-cuts deep in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

The story concerns itself chiefly with the role of music in documenting and, in some cases, defusing the unspeakable pains that birthed the blues.

Acting doesn't come much bolder and more blistering than in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Each of the actors rises to the occasion in this production, riding a wave of heat crafted by screenwriter and Wilson whisperer Ruben Santiago-Hudson.

The downside to the film's almost musical rhythm is that it never quite transcends its stagey feel... On the other hand, it's hard to argue against the power of seeing Boseman or Davis' faces fill the screen.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom leaves a little to be desired, even though Boseman gives the performance of his career. It’s a shame that the film he is in isn’t as wonderful as he, but with this, he leaves a legacy.

Unabashedly stagy in many respects, a quality that can work both ways — but, ultimately, the crackling current that runs through Davis and Boseman’s acting gives the movie all the blazing, goosebump-inducing immediacy of a live performance.

Wolfe with Wilson's play created a thought-provoking, theatrical piece with striking performances, that are owned by these Black creators.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom focuses its spotlight on long, uncut, engaging monologues, captivating dialogues, and entertaining banter, all handled effortlessly by every actor involved.