Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
Opening at December 18, 2020 on Netflix.
Drama, Music
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the final film starring Chadwick Boseman.
Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians awaits trailblazing performer, the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey (Viola Davis). Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music.
As the band waits in the studio’s claustrophobic rehearsal room, ambitious trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman) — who has an eye for Ma’s girlfriend and is determined to stake his own claim on the music industry — spurs his fellow musicians into an eruption of stories revealing truths that will forever change the course of their lives.
Adapted from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson’s play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom celebrates the transformative power of the blues and the artists who refuse to let society’s prejudices dictate their worth. Directed by George C. Wolfe and adapted for the screen by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the film is produced by Denzel Washington and Todd Black. Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Taylour Paige, and Dusan Brown co-star alongside Grammy winner Branford Marsalis’ score.
Director: George C. Wolfe
Writers: Ruben Santiago-Hudson, August Wilson
Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Viola Davis, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, Taylour Paige, Jonny Coyne, Michael Potts
►Cast
| Chadwick Boseman | → | Levee |
| Viola Davis | → | Ma Rainey |
| Glynn Turman | → | Toledo |
| Colman Domingo | → | Cutler |
| Taylour Paige | → | Dussie Mae |
| Jonny Coyne | → | Sturdyvant |
| Michael Potts | → | Slow Drag |
| Jeremy Shamos | → | Irvin |
| Joshua Harto | → | Policeman |
| Dusan Brown | → | Sylvester |
| Phil Nardozzi | → | Deli worker |
| Jordan Rhone | → | Delivery Boy |
| Tony Amen | → | Laborer |
| Gregory Bromfield | → | Shop Owner |
| James Ciesielski | → | Laborer |
| Brent Feitl | → | Biker |
| Antonio Fierro | → | Laborer |
| Ronnell Hunt | → | Business Owner |
| Sienna Jeffries | → | Looper |
| Daniel Johnson | → | Chicago Worker |
| Nathaniel Johnson | → | Concert Guest |
| William Kania | → | Laborer |
| Malik Abdul Khaaliq | → | Laborer / Worker |
| Scott Matheny | → | Pedestrian |
| Chris McCail | → | Gambler |
| Shane McNair | → | Laborer |
| Roger Petan | → | Businessman |
| Patrick Raffaele | → | Laborer |
| DaJuan Manwell Rippy | → | Teenager |
| Eric Sharpe | → | Recording Studio Worker |
| Remington Sinclair | → | Audience Member |
| Sierra Stewart | → | Dancer |
| Tru Verret-Fleming | → | Hotel Patron |
| Jacob Wright | → | Laborer |