Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - 5 nominations

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Chadwick Boseman (Posthumously)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Viola Davis

Best Achievement in Production Design Mark Ricker (production design)  Karen O'Hara (set decoration)  Diana Stoughton (set decoration)

Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling Sergio Lopez-Rivera  Mia Neal  Jamika Wilson

Best Achievement in Costume Design - Ann Roth

It's a hot day in 1920's Chicago thanks to the weather, the music, and tensions rising among Ma Rainey's band, her music management, and even her girlfriend and family.  Everybody's got a bone to pick, and some have even bigger dreams to fulfill.  The heart of the film captures the day of a recording session, and boy, the knives are out - metaphorically and literally.  Of course the leads are spectacular - Viola Davis could read the phone book and win a Tony, and Chadwick Boseman is maybe the presumptive posthumous winner of the Lead Actor category.  Inherent to the film's story is the utterly transparent racism endemic to the music industry - black people are talents to be used, not partners with whom to build an empire.

The thing about the film - which may be no surprise given that George C. Wolfe (Tony award winner) is the director - is that it doesn't feel like a film, it feels like a stage play.  But that's also no surprise given that this film is adapted from August Wilson's 1982 play of the same name.  I wouldn't call this a criticism so much as an observation, but the transition to film didn't make much difference in how I would imagine the play was staged.  There weren't many sets, not many actors, when the heat was on from the actors they played "to the back of the room" even when there was no room.

Fans of the blog will know that Production Design and Costume generally accompany strong period pieces, and that's true for this film, as well.  In particular, Ma Rainey's exquisite costuming captured the real singer's style and flair, and heck if the incredible makeup job didn't transform the gorgeous Viola Davis into a reasonable facsimile of the historical figure.

This film is not for everyone - if you can't stand sitting through a dramatic stage play, you won't much like Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.  But if you are like me and a day at the theatre is better than candy, then this one will punch you in the face.

See the trailer here.