Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Oscar time is almost here and this film is bound to have several nominations. The August Wilson play (produced at our very own Huntington Theatre Company in 2012), is a period piece set in 1920’s Chicago. It explores racial and generational tensions during a recording session featuring the diva Ma Rainey and her blues band. Now a film, Viola Davis gives us an incredible performance and the music is fantastic. Sadly, this was the last feature film that Chadwick Boseman made before his death and strangely, some of his dialog seems quite ominous.