Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

A perfectly plotted showcase of tremendous performances, just a little too theatrical to feel natural—though once the monologues start, their effects are undiminished by the stagey feel. Well paced and pleasingly packaged.

Sure it feels stage-y, but it showcases the powerhouse performances from the leads. If Viola doesn't win an Oscar this year, I will fly to LA and protest it myself. A solid, though perhaps not outstanding, simmering-tension chamber drama, that also tells a broader story about Black-American history.

Boseman really does give his all here, and Davis (while not in as much as the movie as I had hoped) is unrecognizable she's so good. Also loved Domingo and the rest of the cast as well. I feel like the actual stage play had a lot more to say than what's been portrayed here. It seems some themes and plot points are touched on but never fully realized. There's also this side character that didn't really add much to the plot. Still, it has incredible dialogue and it's really well made.

Brilliant performances all around, led by Davis and Boseman. Still, as good as the script is - and using a lead character so long out of the limelight it can tell a story with deep echoes without paying lipservice to the usual biopic clichés - it feels very much like a filmed play, jumping from monologue to monologue.

I mean you either liked filmed plays or you don't. There is a lot to admire in the performances, especially that of the late Chadwick Boseman, but also the collection of character actors found in Ma's band. Viola Davis gives half of her performance through sweat and teeth and its great.

A lotta talking But if you can get past that It's Sorta interesting hearing them speak on different perspectives of the "Black Experience "

Retains the stage-y feel of its source material, but that's not a bad thing (the rapid dialogue jazzily bounces the film along at a great pace and the monologues simmer and explode from out of the cramped and sweaty setting) and it has powerful filmic touches too (see the poignant opening misdirection). Davis and Boseman give particularly powerful turns in this rich work (themes of past and future, art and ambition, race and power all bubble between the gut-punching compare/contrast bookends).

Better than your average awards season vegetables thanks to excellent performances and a screenplay with some meat on its bones, but that doesn't make this feel like any less of an obligation to watch. File this alongside the previous August Wilson adaptation, Fences, as a competently assembled and strongly acted prestige drama that will win an award or two before being totally forgotten.

Forget the botched Oscars, Chadwick Boseman's performance is great in this and it shows his full range, filled with charisma. Viola Davis is also a powerhouse, and the two of them carry this otherwise fairly typical film to greater heights. Films set in this era should trigger some emotion, especially given the moment, and in that regard, it hits all the right notes.

A first-rate actor's piece (and this cast and material would be electric on stage), but Wolfe struggles to combat the heavy, oppressive atmosphere - there's a point when you want to escape the seedy, ugly confines, which may be the point but it makes for a tough viewing experience. Davis and Boseman are obviously the MVPs (Davis' sweaty, earthy evocation of Rainey is unlike anything she's done before), but Turman quietly steals every scene he's in as the battle scarred "elder statesman".

Very well acted, and very well done. This film offers up a look into 1920's Chicago, involving race and America at the time. Viola is perfect as usual and demands your attention in every scene she's in. This probably the best performance we've seen Boseman in, and he deserves all the praise he gets. He was truly a treasure and will be missed by millions everywhere. There isn't really too much going on in this movie when It comes to plot, but the insightful dialogue is great. Worth a watch!

"It's your cousin, Marvin Rainey! You know that new sound you been looking for? Well listen to this!"

Oscar bait.

(MA BETTER BLUES)

The only thing I really liked from this movie was its title.

The handsome production design and the "Zeiss Supreme Prime Lenses" mitigate the staginess; though they may not transcend the performed monologues and the forced, jocular interplay between seasoned actors, they give you something to look at. Like black bottoms - there is (among other fast-moving exchanges) a well-directed sex scene here. Recommended for the recording sessions, less so for the protestations about racism: we know, and Boseman's character arc doesn't prove any point worth seeing.

August Wilson is one of the great 20th-century playwrights and this score mostly reflects the strength of the original work. Don't think the adaptation did it any favors - all the directorial additions are distracting, and the loud acting, while maybe effective in the moment, really detracts from any nuance in the script.

Wow! That was so disappointing: Weak scenario - Cheesy, preachy lines - Overacting - Super annoying lead role - Weird transitions between emotions - Obvious continuity errors; and most importantly: NOT ENOUGH MUSIC. It really amazes me how they can make that many awful choices in a 90-minute movie. I'm seriously upset because I love blues and I was so happy to see them make a movie related to it. I wanted to like this movie so bad, but no chance.

It's a movie that happens mostly inside one building and one or two rooms, but it's always keeping up the pace, maintaining an interesting structure of drama. Chadwick Boseman is so, so good in this one, with the best performance I've been by him. Viola Davis is a powerhouse with her personality and presence and every scene with her is enjoyable to watch, while keeping you a bit on your toes, because you never know what Ma Rainey might do next.

this is more of a netflix content than a film. a great story, a competent screenplay and solid performances are messed up by uneven and boring direction, and subpar editing.

Meh

As soon as Viola Davis stepped in the story started to shape in. I liked the stuck door idea.

Boseman and Davis are excellent, and the story flows well. Enjoyable.

Boseman gives the performance of his career and covers all of the bases brilliantly, and then of course you have Viola Davis being her usual amazing self. But it's a tour de force of acting in general. The interactions between all of these people are so well done, so well written. At first it's just charming and funny but as it goes on some real emotional scars are revealed and there is a lot of tension. An awesome chamber film.

Viola Davis wasn't on screen nearly enough. The door was the best part. Too many movies adapted from plays are "tell me, don't show me" and barely go anywhere.

A smoldering, frenetic firecracker of a movie (that rarely feels like a movie), moving at a breakneck pace even when it feels like nothing's happening. It's no shock to me that this originates as a stage play, and I'd love to see this performed on a stage. Mesmerizing, challenging performances from Boseman and Davis. I can't accurately describe how dirty I felt while watching the end sequence; proof positive that this movie had me hook, line, and sinker. I will desperately miss Chadwick Boseman.

This feels like Fences again, only with some thought given to its cinematic presentation. Overall, it still has that stagey feel (which I don't always dislike—in fact just this year I really enjoyed The Boys in the Band), but the performances jolt it alive. Davis is remarkable but this is Boseman's film. He delivers a curtain call not seen since Heath Ledger and I'd be overjoyed if he posthumously swept the season.

This is what theatre kids want acting to be

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With such an intriguing lead, the movie is lost by focusing too much on the band. It's not a surprise that this is a stage to screen adaptation, as the setting is too confined and the drama too contrived. Boseman is very good at times, but Ma is the only compelling character and it feels like she is only sprinkled in rather than being the star. Viola Davis is excellent, as usual.

Davis and Boseman both deserve serious awards attention, but the entire rest of the cast excel in their roles as well. I can't believe it took this long for Mayor Royce from The Wire to tuck his good-strong dick away and dig into some juicy parts; the guy can ACT. Also, I'm shocked they recast Octavia Spencer as the horror movie icon: Ma

Small set, big story, exactly the kind of film I like. The acting here was really incredible, as was the story.

Sad to watch such a poignant text being turned into an Oscar bait show -- or, in most days, "prestige" TV. Of course the cast is awesome, specially Boseman, but it's the typical case where there's such little effort in flying above your average, awards-obsessed chamber piece that I will likely forget it in a few hours.

This was a tour de force of performances from almost all the cast, but especially Boseman and Davis.. The director doesn't get in the way of the cast and just lets them shine with subtle work and brings it out even more. It's obvious with some of the cuts that a lot has been improvised and it is done well. A great (and sad) send off for Boseman.

want a Coca Cola™. Boseman owns.

Ma Rainey'in ünlü Mother Of The Blues albümünün, hazırlık aşaması anlatılmış. Ma Rainey'nin hayatını beklerken, Levey ile Ma arasındaki çatışmayı izliyoruz. Oyuncu performans filmi. Tek mekanda geçen film, beklediğimizin altında. Chadwick Boseman çok doğal ve naif. Viola Davis'de 1 blues tanrıçası. Egolu ve kibirli. Bazı sahnelerde sizi alıp başka yerlere götürüyor. Filmin sonunda, sarı ayakkabı. Ver Tavuğumu al horozumu.

I am usually a sucker fucker filmed theater, but this was very dull. Overacted annoying characters in a repetitive plot.

This feels very much like a filmed version of the kind of play I would have had to read in school and hated for that reason alone, regardless of its actual quality. I don't think this made me care for its characters enough to earn its ending, but it had its share of strong moments.

Wouldn't have been surprised if Chadwick had gotten the win but he carried this film

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Glynn Turman is the MVP of this play turned "film". Solid performances with dull directing that could have tried to make the talky bits more cinematic. Talking isn't cinematic but drama is. This could have been accomplished with better blocking, using shot size to indicate drama and judicious use of close-ups. Here everything is mostly in over-the-shoulder and close-ups so that everything is equally highly important. That makes for a mediocre film with good performances.

8-

There are bad intentions behind this trash movie.

Lost interest pretty quickly.

So theatrical that the only thing that can break through the histrionics is Boseman playing as if he has the devil on his heels. It's a shame he gave it his all to something that rings so false. At any moment you can could have turned the camera around and I wouldn't have been shocked to see an audience. To the credit of the actors and August Wilson, it made me interested in seeing one of Wilson's plays on the stage.