Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Netflix

R
1h 34m
- Drama
- Music

Release Date: Dec 18, 2020

Tensions rise when trailblazing blues singer Ma Rainey and her band gather at a recording studio in Chicago in 1927.

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Director & Top Cast

George C. Wolfe
Director

Viola Davis
Ma Rainey

Chadwick Boseman
Levee

Glynn Turman
Toledo

Colman Domingo
Cutler

Michael Potts
Slow Drag

Jeremy Shamos

Irvin

Jonny Coyne

Sturdyvant

Taylour Paige

Dussie Mae

Dusan Brown

Sylvester

Joshua Harto

Policeman

Quinn VanAntwerp

Band Singer

Chloe Davis

Ma Rainey's Dancer

Mayte Natalio

Ma Rainey's Dancer

Johanna Elmina Moise

Ma Rainey's Dancer

Onyxx Noel

Ma Rainey's Dancer

LaWanda Hopkins

Ma Rainey's Dancer

Sierra Stewart

Ma Rainey's Dancer

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: 2.00 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

On July 2, 1927, Ma Rainey is a highly regarded, strong willed blues singer who has recently been contracted by white producers. A recording session for songs by Ma is scheduled by her manager Irvin to take place at Paramount recording studios in Chicago. Seasoned Georgia Jazz Band members Toledo, Cutler, and Slow Drag arrive on time without Ma, frustrating her producer, Mel Sturdyvant. They are soon joined by Levee Green, the band's overconfident trumpeter who has shown Sturdyvant his original compositions in the hopes of breaking away from Ma and getting his own record deal. The rest of the band disapproves of this.Ma arrives an hour late with her girlfriend, Dussie Mae, and her nephew, Sylvester. Immediately, she clashes with Sturdyvant and her manager Irvin, making numerous demands. Insulted that the Coca-Cola she requested has not been provided, Ma refuses to begin the recording session, assigning Slow Drag and Sylvester to get her one. Later, she insists to Sturdyvant that the opening words of the album be spoken by Sylvester, who has a blocking stutter. As a result, the group has to do multiple takes of the song "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," much to everyone's frustration.Ma confides to Cutler that her white bosses are only interested in her voice, and would otherwise regard her as "just a dog in the alley." Meanwhile, Levee and Dussie Mae have sex in the practice room before being interrupted by Slow Drag.The group finally manages to get through the first track after multiple takes, but discovers an equipment failure has caused it not to be recorded. The band blames Levee, who they think tripped over a wire while eyeing Dussie, though it's revealed to have been separately damaged. Their argument leads to the religious Cutler telling a story about a preacher he once knew who got stranded in a small town and was humiliated by a group of white men who tore up his Bible and forced him to dance. Levee brushes off the story, saying that if there was a God, then he would care for Black people, which he never has. Cutler attacks Levee in anger, leading Levee to briefly brandish a knife in retaliation.The group finally finishes recording, but Ma fires Levee soon afterwards, believing his ambition and troublemaking to be detrimental to the band. Levee then meets with Sturdyvant about his original songs, but discovers that he will only purchase the songs, insisting that there is no market for them. Levee suffers a mental breakdown, and, after Toledo accidentally steps on his new shoes, Levee fatally stabs him in the back with the knife. Cutler and Slow Drag leave in horror as a regretful Levee cradles Toledo's corpse. Later, Sturdyvant records Levee's songs with a band consisting entirely of white men (supposedly Paul Whiteman's orchestra).

Storyline

Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary "Mother of the Blues," Ma Rainey (Academy Award® winner 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 Fences Oscar® nominees Denzel Washington and Todd Black. Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Taylour Paige and Dusan Brown co-star alongside Grammy® winner Branford Marsalis' score. — Netflix Chicago, 1927. Ma Rainey , the legendary American blues vocalist, is about to record her best-known songs with her hand-picked backing band. In the meantime, the band members kill time bantering on a hot summer afternoon while waiting for her in the studio. But tensions rise, painful secrets come to light, and trouble brews as the demanding diva shows up fashionably late for the recording session. Now, insolent ambition, self-assured arrogance, a deep generation gap, and centuries of black oppression create obstacles to capturing Ma's expressive, emotional voice on vinyl. However, the defiant Mother of the Blues knows she is the star of the show and won't be pushed around. After all, it's what Ma says that counts. — Nick Riganas