Film review: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

George C. Wolfe's film adaptation of August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is available now on Netflix. Starring Viola Davis as Ma Rainey and Chadwick Boseman as Levee, the action, such as it is, is largely confined to a Chicago recording studio. It's 1927 in stifling mid-summer heat, tensions rising as blues singer Rainey, knowing her worth, isn't going to be exploited by white record company bosses or her manager. 

First staged in 1982, Wilson's stage play is, by the nature of the form, set-bound, which director George C. Wolfe exploits to the full as, first, members of the band awaiting the arrival of Rainey exchange pleasantries, rapidly evolving into sharper exchanges. Trumpeter Levee, Chadwick Boseman's character, haunted by disturbing childhood experiences and harbouring ambitions to lead his own band, pushes to the limit, the outcome both disturbing and unpredictable. 

Viola Davis delivers a powerful performance as Rainey. The physical transformation of Davis' the actor into the film's central character is striking. The scenes involving Davis/Rainey are a visual treat. The score was written by Branford Marsalis and several familiar names are on the soundtrack. If you're looking for an action packed movie, look elsewhere, if you're looking for an exposition of the struggle of black Americans in a deeply racist country in the 1920s, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is for you. 

The (off-screen) Ma Rainey band musicians are: Wendell Brunious (trumpet); Freddie Lonzo (trombone); Sean Mason (piano); Eric Revis (double bass); Herlin Riley (drums). Others heard on the soundtrack include Delfeayo Marsalis and Don Vappie. In some quarters Ma Rainey's Black Bottom has been tipped for Oscar success. Viola Davis for Ma Rainey? The late Chadwick Boseman for Levee? We'll find out when the Academy Awards' winners are announced on April 25 next year. Sign up to Netflix (www.netflix.com) for one month for £6.99.  

Russell