MOVIE · 2020
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Drama94 min
In 1927 Chicago, a recording session grows tense when Ma Rainey gathers with her band at the studio. Viola Davis is the trailblazing Mother of the Blues, commanding the room as musicians, producers, and managers circle around the day’s work. Among the players, Chadwick Boseman is the band’s trumpet man, one of several sparks in a session where every disagreement lands in front of the microphone. The film stays close to that single afternoon, with the studio itself becoming the stage for the band’s clashes and the music they’re there to make.
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