Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Directed by George C. Wolfe, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom follows Viola Davis’ intimidating title character as she sets out to record a new record alongside nervous white executives and a band that includes a cocky, arrogant trumpet player (Chadwick Boseman’s Levee). Filmmaker Wolfe, working from a script by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, delivers a somewhat stagy yet mostly captivating drama that benefits substantially from its stellar performances, as Davis offers up a commanding turn that’s more than matched by her various costars – although it remains clear from start to finish that Boseman’s frequently electrifying work here remains a highlight and elevates the proceedings on a continuous basis. And while the picture mostly transpires in just two locations, the recording studio and the band’s rehearsal room, Wolfe does an effective job of peppering the narrative with spellbinding interludes that effectively compensate for the sporadically less-than-cinematic atmosphere – with the most apt example of this certainly a riveting sequence wherein Levee emotionally describes an incident from his past. By the time the note-perfect conclusion rolls around, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom has undoubtedly confirmed its place as a superior adaptation that is, if nothing else, a better-than-expected showcase for the completely enthralling efforts of its two leads.

***1/2 out of ****