Bessie

70.00/100

Bessie Smith sure kicked ass a lot! Queen Latifah has some crazy acting skills. I think sometimes the cinematography was a little bit generic and not too impressive, but I guess that goes with it being made for TV. Otherwise, the story moves on fluidly and keeps things interesting enough with interpersonal drama and the challenges of the time period for black people in the US. Also, an interesting companion piece for this one is 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', which was excellent as well.

Absolutely nót fun to watch. I did not think the vocals were that good or anything special, the script was weird and the acting over-done. I watch movies wholeheartedly but I never felt any connection at all with Bessie. Too bad. 20/100.

I hadn't heard of her before, so it was interesting to learn a little. The film itself is okay. It's a fairly formulaic biopic, really. It does look nice, but the familiar story beats are there, and the direction wasn't anything extraordinary. Queen Latifah was good, and so was Michael Kenneth Williams. It wasn't anything write home about, but if you're interested in the early blues music scene, it's probably worth a watch.

Indulges in the typical Biopic Template, and yet in some ways manages to transcend it--mostly by betraying very little fear in displaying the quieter moments of artfulness that a lesser director may not have had the poise to evoke. Whatever failures [i]Bessie[/i] may have succumbed to, denying the ability of Queen Latifah's performance to breathe was not one of them.

Bessie (2015), about the legendary blues singer Bessie Smith was a really well-crafted HBO movie. So good that it's among the better experiences this year. Latifah, who've been trying to make this movie a long time, put her heart and soul into this work and it payed off. Perhaps loses a little steam at the end when it could have added a more dramatic touch, but besides that everything was well thought out with quality performances to boot. Thumbs up for this made-for-TV biopic

Mostly standard biopic that indulges a bit too freely in the melodramatic, with one non-standard highlight: Queen Latifah's excellent singing. She turns in a pretty good dramatic performance, too, but there's not a whole lot she can do with the mediocre writing.

Good production values (HBO) but pretty much the same as all the other music biopics...plus Latifah boob.