Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

I would have much rather seen a proper biopic of Ma Rainey than this movie version of a play where, with the exception of one chap banging on and on about his shoes, very little actually happens.

First things first. Chadwick Boseman gives a performance like nothing you've ever seen. The rest of the cast, led by the legend that is Viola Davis, is, as might be expected, tip-top, but Mr Boseman flies ever higher in every scene.

The film is based on a famous play by a great playwright who chose to write with a sense of melodrama that can still work in the theatre but somehow feels dated when transfered to the screen. The camera has to cope with the sheer size of performance necessary to capture set-piece speeches, which go against the grain of image-led cinema. Renowned Broadway director George C Wolfe gets the actors to the right temperature, but then has to find a way to make the project cinematic. The solutions here, apart from minimal opening out from the claustrophobia of the recording studio setting, are some mobile camera work and quite a bit of nimble editing. Curiously, though, these strategies simply emphasise the work's stage origins. What do work are the close-ups. They bring us closer to the characters than can ever happen on a stage. With an ensemble as fine as this one, the more close-ups the better.

So, MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM, like the film of Wilson's play FENCES, is not satisfying as a movie, but as a record of a powerful play. Both well worth seeing. MA RAINEY is the greater, because of Chadwick Boseman. What an amazing actor. What a loss. What a legacy.

Horrific overacting and a script that rambles and goes nowhere. Most of the film is taken up with individual stories about how the white man was evil, which became very tiresome very quickly. A few very daft plot twists that never went anywhere. This was more 'panto' than serious drama and those involved should be ashamed of the mess they produced. This film literally had no redeeming features

This film is full of good performances. Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis shine in this movie. Chadwick was incredible. I am very happy to see him one more time, and what a performance he gives. The story felt a bit short. The story is not that special but I'll say it again, the performances are so good. That's why I give this film a 7.

Thank you Chadwick Boseman, R.I.P.

A lesson in the art of acting and film making, as an exceptional cast of extremely talented actors portray several hours in a recording studio, the tensions as taut as any wire, the crimes of the times and their effects on those involved in full view - crimes perpetuated into today, sadly.