Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | Movie Review (& Oscar Speculation)

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a fantastic showcase for Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis, who deliver career high performances and create complex, memorable characters.

Cole: 8/10
Justin: 8/10

[deepakdass]

The play embodies Ma Rainey's refusal to dilute her form of cultural expression to fit into the white mainstream.
The ending was powerful with a staid white singer "filching" Levee's song, a commentary on the evolution of American music

[SheriMaple]

I saw the play years ago and the ending is necessary. If you are paying attention, you can understand how it does end in the way that it does. It's an actor’s play.

[MB-ygqk]

The shirt is really struggling in the back

[Joestjoeravaragejoe]

Anyone who dissing by saying that Chadwick winning is biased, is kind a missing the point of an award. For me, anyone who got nominated is worhty enough to win. So the simple math is like this, if Chadwick performance isn't worthy enough, then he wouldn't be get nominated, afterwards winning or lossing is just a conversation about who deserve it more with a lot of involved of politics here (and there's a whole topic about oscar bait).

But the top prizes for me is the nomination

[christianknight]

My Golden Globe Predictions:

Best Picture Drama:

1. The Trial of the Chicago 7
2. Nomadland
3. Mank
4. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
5. One Night in Miami

Best Picture Comedy or Musical:

1. Promising Young Woman
2. The Prom
3. Borat 2
4. On the Rocks
5. Palm Springs

Best Director:

1. David Fincher for Mank
2. Chloe Zhao for Nomadland
3. George C. Wolfe for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
4. Aaron Sorkin for The Trial of the Chicago 7
5. Paul Greengrass for News of the World

Best Actress Drama:

1. Vanessa Kirby for Pieces of a Woman
2. Viola Davis for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
3. Andra Day for The U.S. vs Billie Holiday
4. Frances McDormand for Nomadland
5. Kate Winslet for Ammonite

Best Actor Drama:

1. Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
2. Anthony Hopkins for The Father
3. Delroy Lindo for Da 5 Bloods
4. Gary Oldman for Mank
5. Colin Firth for Supernova

Best Actor Comedy or Musical:

1. Sacha Baron Cohen for Borat 2
2. Bill Murray for On the Rocks
3. Andy Samberg for Palm Springs
4. Dev Patel for The Personal History of David Copperfield
5. Pete Davidson for The King of Staten Island

Best Actress Comedy or Musical:

1. Carey Mulligan for Promising Young Woman
2. Michelle Pfeiffer for French Exit
3. Rashida Jones for On the Rocks
4. Maria Bokalova for Borat 2
5. Jo Ellen Pellman for The Prom

Best Supporting Actress:

1. Amanda Seyfried for Mank
2. Olivia Colman for The Father
3. Ellen Burstyn for Pieces of a Woman
4. Glenn Close for Hillbilly Elegy
5. Saoirse Ronan for Ammonite

Best Supporting Actor:

1. Daniel Kaluuya for Judas and the Black Messiah
2. Stanley Tucci for Supernova
3. Sacha Baron Cohen for The Trial of the Chicago 7
4. Mark Rylance for The Trial of the Chicago 7
5. Leslie Odom Jr. for One Night in Miami

Best Screenplay:

1. The Trial of the Chicago 7
2. Nomadland
3. Mank
4. One Night in Miami
5. The Father

Best Animated Feature:

1. Soul
2. Onward
3. Over the Moon
4. The Croods: A New Age
5. Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon

Best Original Song:

1. Hear My Voice from The Trial of the Chicago 7
2. Speak Now from One Night in Miami
3. Seen from The Life Ahead
4. Wear Your Crown from The Prom
5. Rocket to the Moon from Over the Moon

Best Original Score:

1. Soul
2. Mank
3. News of the World
4. Tenet
5. The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Foreign Language Film:

1. Another Round (Denmark)
2. The Life Ahead (Italy)
3. Minari (USA)
4. Never Gonna Show Again (Poland)
5. Two of Us (France)

I thought a lot about these predictions and I am predicting what the Golden Globes are more likely to nominate and not what the Oscars are more likely to nominate because I know they have two very different tastes.

[Thiagoo]

If Boseman doesn't win it's going to be sad but honestly Hopkins gave the best performance of his career so it's also gonna be sad. It's a difficult choice

[gabrielcastaneda]

I’m probably going to cry seeing boseman

[milesfolley]

The ending of the movie is not how the play ended. The play ends with Levee blowing his horn, after *the same event happens* but nothing comes out.

[omarnurgali]

The shirt in the background moves by itself at 3:26 and 9:00

[AntsMovies]

Got to see this at the theater tonight and it was excellent. One question though. Boseman kept trying to open this door over and over, what was that about or why did he keep trying when he knew it was locked?

[christianknight]

Boseman will win for sure. Davis could win but Kirby is giving her a lot of competition. What do you guys think?

[FMRA]

Been hyping for this movie ever since the poster dropped

[jber]

I'm very excited to see the next film based on a novel by August Wilson produced by Denzel Washington, "The piano lesson" hopefully it will by as good as the last two films

[MagnitudeReviews]

I really hope Boseman gets his oscar.

I believe that would be the final thing that’s needed for us to accept his passing. Because it still feels fresh and is still heartbreaking. Ending off his career with an Oscar would be a satisfying bookend to his career and legacy.

Rest in power Chadwick Boseman.

[janechoy]

I was surprised at how little screen time VD has compared to CB, but I guess Levee has a more dramatic arc whereas Ma is already striving.

[roguestar]

I watched the movie and thought: "huh this would make a great play" and then I saw the end credits and it said "based on the play by" and went "oh, that makes sense" 😅

[rafayop]

The acting was just Phenomenal! Amazing!

[Alan-myki]

Is the discussion about Viola's screentime similar to Olivia in The Favourite?

[ShadavionGrant]

Glynn Turman could receive an Oscar nod after winning Best Supporting Actor from the Los Angeles Film Critic's Association and was nominated by the National Film Society Critics. Now where are my 1K likes. LMBO!!! :)

[turtle]

What do you mean by crowd pleaser? It’s giving “it won’t get nominated because the ending made us for bad about ourselves even though it’s beyond accurate”. Also explain what you mean by Viola “playing herself”?

These aren’t gotcha questions- I truly want to understand what you are saying.