Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Chadwick Boseman's last film raises Oscar hopes
Chadwick Boseman (center) with Michael Potts (l.) And Colman Domingo (r.) In "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom".
© David Lee / Netflix
"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is the final film with Chadwick Boseman. Will he be honored posthumously with an Oscar for his performance?
At the end of August, actor Chadwick Boseman (1976-2020) died unexpectedly at the age of 43. The "Black Panther" star died of complications from colon cancer, which he kept a secret for four years. Before his death he was able to complete the filming of "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom". It is the last film of his far too short career – and it could possibly give him an Oscar posthumously.
The drama by director George C. Wolfe (66, "Luck by my side"), in which Viola Davis (55, "How to Get Away with Murder") also plays, is already causing the well-known "Oscar Buzz". Boseman received a nomination for the Gotham Awards for Best Actor in mid-November – a first indicator that further nominations could follow. The US press already sees him as a potential Oscar candidate – and not just for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom". His appearance in "Da 5 Bloods" by Spike Lee (63) is also praised as an Oscar-worthy performance.
This is what "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is about
"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is set in the 1920s. One afternoon, while recording in Chicago, tension and emotions boil as members of a studio band wait for the legendary "mother of the blues" Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) to arrive. The belated Ma fearlessly throws herself into a heated battle with her white manager and producer for control of her music.
While the band is still waiting in the studio's far too cramped rehearsal room, the ambitious trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman), who has had an eye on Ma's girlfriend and is determined to advance in the music industry, provokes his bandmates to reveal truths that belong to her Will change lives forever.
The film is an adaptation of the play of the same name by the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson (1945-2005). The script was written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson (64). Oscar winner Denzel Washington (65, "Fences") and Todd Black (60) are responsible for the production. In addition to Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis, the cast also includes Branford Marsalis, Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Taylour Paige, Dusan Brown, Jeremy Shamos and Jonny Coyne.
"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" will be available from December 18, 2020 on the Netflix streaming service.