---
title: "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"
year: 2020
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/ma-raineys-black-bottom"
fi1m_id: "ma-raineys-black-bottom"
imdb_id: "tt10514222"
tmdb_id: 615667
wikidata_id: "Q65049470"
fi1m_score: 69
critics_score: 72
critics_reviews: 30
published: "2026-09-27T08:34:59.945589+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-27T08:35:14.820079+00:00"
region: "CZ"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)

Directed by George C. Wolfe · 1h 33m · Drama, Music

## Identity

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/ma-raineys-black-bottom
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** ma-raineys-black-bottom
- **IMDb ID:** tt10514222
- **TMDB ID:** 615667
- **Wikidata ID:** Q65049470
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10514222/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/615667, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q65049470

**Fi1m score: 69** · Critics 72 from 30 reviews

*In a sentence:* A hot afternoon in a Chicago basement, and the trumpet player has new shoes and nowhere to go in them

> George C. Wolfe has filmed August Wilson’s play with such care that it never stops being a play. It is worth 93 minutes of your evening for Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis, who do two different kinds of great work in the same small room.

## Synopsis

Chicago, 1927, one hot afternoon. Four musicians wait in the basement rehearsal room of a recording studio for the singer they back, Ma Rainey (Viola Davis), who is late. Cutler (Colman Domingo) leads the band and wants the session done. Toledo (Glynn Turman) reads books and lectures the others about them. Slow Drag (Michael Potts) plays bass and keeps his head down. Levee (Chadwick Boseman), the trumpet player, has bought new yellow shoes, written his own arrangement of Ma’s song, and means the white men upstairs, the manager Irvin (Jeremy Shamos) and the studio owner Sturdyvant (Jonny Coyne), to hear it. When Ma arrives she brings a dented car, a policeman, her stammering nephew Sylvester (Dusan Brown) and her girlfriend Dussie Mae (Taylour Paige), and she has her own ideas about how the record will be made.

## Review

George C. Wolfe has taken August Wilson’s play about a single afternoon in a Chicago recording studio and filmed it faithfully, which is both the point and the problem. Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s screenplay keeps Wilson’s long speeches close to whole. Nobody has tried to turn this into something it is not. What we get is 93 minutes of two great performances and a good deal of standing around, and the two performances are enough. Just.

It opens away from the studio, at a tent show at night in the South, a crowd packed in under canvas while Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) sweats through greasepaint and grins with gold teeth. Then Chicago, 1927, and a basement rehearsal room where her band waits for her. Cutler (Colman Domingo) runs things and wants the session over. Toledo (Glynn Turman) has read a book and would like to tell everyone about it. Levee (Chadwick Boseman) has bought a pair of yellow shoes and cannot stop looking at them, and he has his own arrangement of Ma’s song in his pocket and a plan for what the men upstairs will do when they hear it.

Davis plays Ma as a woman who has worked out precisely how much power she has in that building and spends every ounce of it. She will not sing until someone has fetched her a Coca-Cola. She insists that her nephew Sylvester (Dusan Brown), who stammers, does the spoken introduction, and she makes the manager Irvin (Jeremy Shamos) and the owner Sturdyvant (Jonny Coyne) stand there and wait while he tries. Ann Roth dresses her in sequins and heavy stuff that has no business in that heat, and Davis lets the sweat run through the make-up and does not wipe it. The singing scenes are her weakest; the voice never quite belongs to the woman we have been watching. Everything else does.

Boseman is the one who moves. Levee bounces on those shoes, shadow-boxes, rattles the locked door at the back of the basement that leads nowhere, and talks, and talks. He gets two long speeches, one about what happened to his mother in the Georgia countryside when he was eight, one aimed straight at God, and Boseman plays both as a man trying to shout down a memory. We sat very still through the first one. We are aware, as everyone watching will be, that this is his last performance, and we tried to put that aside and could not; but the speech would have floored us anyway, because he lets the charm fall off Levee’s face a piece at a time and never puts it back.

The craft is sound and it is modest. Tobias A. Schliessler lights the basement yellow and close, the studio upstairs pale and cool, so that going up the stairs feels like surfacing. Mark Ricker’s basement is pipes, a ceiling fan and that useless door, a room built to make grown men feel like boys kept after school. Andrew Mondshein cuts between the two floors so the waiting has a rhythm, and the recording takes, with Branford Marsalis’s tight period brass, are the best filmed music in the film because they are really arguments about whose version gets made. What Wolfe rarely finds is a shot that says something the words have not. The camera stands back and waits for the speech to finish.

Turman is quietly superb as Toledo, the only man in the basement who has thought about why they are all in it, and Domingo holds the band together with the weariness of someone who has done this a hundred times. Taylour Paige, as Dussie Mae, understands exactly what Levee’s shoes are for. The last act takes a turn we will not describe. The film hurries it, and then adds a coda about who ends up owning this music that is blunt and, we thought, earned.

Denzel Washington, who produces here, directed [*Fences*](https://film.one/film/fences) (2016), the last Wilson adaptation to reach a screen, and that too felt like a very good production seen from the stalls. This one is shorter, hotter and better acted, and no more of a film. See it for the two of them, and give the speeches room; they were written to be heard, not glanced at.

*Fi1m score 69, published 27 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of August Wilson’s play, and nearly all of them like it for the same reason. Chadwick Boseman’s Levee, his final screen performance, is praised in almost every review, for the speeches, the restlessness and the slide from charm into rage. Viola Davis’s Ma Rainey is the second name on most lists, described as commanding by review after review, with the crackling ensemble scenes close behind.

The reservations cluster around the staging. Many reviews find the film stage-bound, the speeches sitting awkwardly on camera and the direction doing little to open them up. A few think the story belongs to Ma and resent Levee taking it over; Sight and Sound and Little White Lies both wish it had stayed with her. The spread is wide at the bottom: The New Yorker finds it dull and visually inert, and Vulture calls it a lifeless recorded play, objecting to Davis’s performance and to the handling of Ma’s queerness while still admiring Boseman.

## Straight answers

**Is Ma Rainey's Black Bottom worth watching?**

*Ma Rainey's Black Bottom* is worth 93 minutes of your evening for Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis, and we scored it 69. George C. Wolfe films August Wilson's play so faithfully that it never stops being a play, so expect long speeches and a good deal of standing around in one basement. Come for the two performances, not for the filmmaking.

**How long is Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and what is it rated?**

*Ma Rainey's Black Bottom* runs 1h 33m. It is a drama and music film.

**Where can I watch Ma Rainey's Black Bottom in Czechia?**

*Ma Rainey's Black Bottom* is streaming on Netflix in Czechia. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and is it suitable for children?**

*Ma Rainey's Black Bottom* carries a UK 15 certificate and is a film of talk rather than action, unsuitable for younger children mainly for its adult subject matter. The hardest moments are recounted, not shown: Levee's speech about what was done to his mother in Georgia when he was a boy is harrowing to hear. One late scene, which we will not describe, turns sharper.

**How does Ma Rainey's Black Bottom compare to Fences?**

*Ma Rainey's Black Bottom* is the shorter, hotter and better-acted of the two August Wilson adaptations, and no more of a film than [*Fences*](https://film.one/film/fences). Both keep the camera at a respectful distance and let the speeches run whole; Denzel Washington directed the earlier one and produces this. Choose *Fences* for a father and a back yard, this one for Boseman.

**What should I watch after Ma Rainey's Black Bottom?**

After *Ma Rainey's Black Bottom*, try [*Fences*](https://film.one/film/fences) (2016, Fi1m 70): Denzel Washington’s earlier Wilson adaptation; a back yard, a father and the same long speeches. Then [*12 Angry Men*](https://film.one/film/12-angry-men) (1957, Fi1m 91): One hot room, twelve men and an argument; the model for this kind of confinement.

### Reviews we read (30)

- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (90/100, inferred): Chang praises the adaptation as urgent and sharply focused, with Boseman delivering a spellbinding final performance. He especially singles out Boseman’s intense, physically vivid portrayal of Levee, while also praising Davis’s commanding Ma Rainey. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-11-20/review-ma-raineys-black-bottom-netflix-boseman-davis)
- **The AV Club**, Shannon Miller (A-): Miller praises the film as a reverent, compelling adaptation, ultimately centered on Chadwick Boseman’s final screen performance. She singles out Boseman’s electrifying delivery of August Wilson’s dialogue, while also praising Viola Davis and the ensemble. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/ma-rainey-s-black-bottom-is-one-final-brilliant-showca-1845684357)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (88/100, inferred): Bradshaw praises the film as a ferocious, intelligent drama, though he finds some of its theatrical speeches contrived. He singles out the powerful performances of Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis, especially Boseman’s emotionally transparent portrayal. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/nov/20/ma-raineys-black-bottom-review-chadwick-boseman-viola-davis)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (85/100, inferred): Rooney finds the adaptation uniquely powerful, though its theatrical roots remain visible. He especially praises Chadwick Boseman’s emotionally explosive final performance. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/ma-raineys-black-bottom-film-review-4095108/)
- **Variety**, Peter Debruge (Critics Pick): Debruge praises the film as a powerful, timely drama about Black artistry and exploitation. He singles out Chadwick Boseman’s restless, layered performance, while also highlighting Viola Davis’s commanding portrayal of Ma Rainey. [Read](https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/ma-raineys-black-bottom-review-chadwick-boseman-viola-davis-1234835504/)
- **Evening Standard**, Charlotte O'Sullivan (4/5): O’Sullivan finds the adaptation compelling, especially because of Boseman and Davis’s performances. She criticizes Davis’s singing and calls the direction unimaginative, though these flaws do not diminish the actors’ impact. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/chadwick-boseman-ma-raineys-black-bottom-netflix-review-b74952.html)
- **Little White Lies**, Flora Spencer Grant (4/4/3): The review finds the film entertaining and its performances consistently strong, while wishing it focused more on Ma Rainey. It singles out Chadwick Boseman’s final performance for its exceptional intensity. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/ma-raineys-black-bottom)
- **Radio Times**, Emma Simmonds (4/5): Simmonds presents the film as a fiery, compelling adaptation of August Wilson’s play. She singles out the performances of Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman, whose final screen appearance anchors the story. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-ys5v6l/ma-raineys-black-bottom/)
- **Total Film**, Kate Stables (4/5): The critic finds the film muscular and poignant, with Boseman’s final performance giving it exceptional force. She also praises Viola Davis’s commanding portrayal of Ma and the film’s tense, mobile staging. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/ma-raineys-black-bottow-review-netflix-chadwick-boseman/)
- **IndieWire**, Eric Kohn (B): Kohn finds the adaptation solid and emotionally resonant, though constrained by its theatrical roots. He singles out the performances of Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman, as well as the furious finale, for praise. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/ma-raineys-black-bottom-review-netflix-1234599878/)
- **Empire**, Amon Warmann (75/100, inferred): Warmann finds the adaptation somewhat too theatrical but ultimately a powerful, worthwhile rendering of August Wilson’s play. He especially praises the commanding performances by Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman, singling out Boseman’s searing monologues. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/ma-rainey-black-bottom/)
- **Screen Daily**, Fionnuala Halligan (75/100, inferred): The review presents the film as a dark, seductive story. It singles out the performances of Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman for praise. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/ma-raineys-black-bottom-review-netflix/5155053.article)
- **Slant Magazine**, Dan Rubins (3/4): Rubins finds the film moving, though its climax lacks the force of the play’s simmering rage. He particularly praises Chadwick Boseman’s urgent performance and his portrayal of Levee’s grief and hopelessness. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/ma-raineys-black-bottom-review-chadwick-boseman-viola-davis/)
- **The i Paper**, Christina Newland (75/100, inferred): Newland finds the film poignant and compelling, despite some stiffness from its theatrical origins. She singles out Chadwick Boseman’s searching, unpredictable performance and the cast’s crackling work. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/ma-raineys-black-bottom-netflix-review-chadwick-boseman-viola-davis-798859)
- **RogerEbert.com** (65/100, inferred): The page shows only a browser verification challenge, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No praise or criticism is visible in the available text. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ma-raineys-black-bottom-movie-review-2020)
- **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (65/100, inferred): The page is identified as a review, but its text is unavailable, so the critic’s verdict and specific praise or complaint cannot be verified. The review appears to concern George C. Wolfe’s 2020 film. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/17/movies/ma-raineys-black-bottom-review.html)
- **Time Out**, Kambole Campbell (3/5): The critic finds the adaptation overly faithful to its stage-play source, though the lead performances elevate it. They single out Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis for praise. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ma-raineys-black-bottom)
- **Sight and Sound** (40/100, inferred): The critic finds the film politically resonant but less emotionally powerful than Wilson’s play, with Ma’s story overshadowed by Levee’s. Boseman’s performance is praised for rendering Levee’s shift from charm to rage and tragedy, while the direction is criticised as sometimes static. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/ma-raineys-black-bottom-august-wilson-film-adaptation-viola-davis-chadwick-boseman)
- **The New Yorker**, Hilton Als (35/100, inferred): Als finds the adaptation dull and criticizes Wolfe’s lack of visual storytelling, despite the strength of Wilson’s writing. He praises Viola Davis’s makeup and Ma Rainey’s vivid, forceful characterization, while finding Davis’s performance constrained by self-consciousness. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/12/21/reimagining-august-wilsons-ma-raineys-black-bottom-on-the-small-screen)
- **Vulture**, Angelica Jade Bastién (10/100, inferred): The critic finds the adaptation lifeless and rote, with stilted writing and filmmaking that feels like a recorded play. She criticizes Viola Davis’s portrayal and the film’s handling of Ma Rainey’s queerness, while praising Chadwick Boseman’s performance as Levee. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/ma-raineys-black-bottom-movie-review-on-netflix.html)
- **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (A-): Goldberg finds the film powerful and essential, even as it occasionally strains against its theatrical origins. He especially praises Chadwick Boseman’s electrifying, deeply nuanced performance alongside Viola Davis’s captivating portrayal. [Read](https://collider.com/ma-raineys-black-bottom-review-netflix-chadwick-boseman/)
- **Den of Geek**, Delia Harrington (4.5/5): Harrington finds the film powerful and ultimately devastating, with a slow build that delivers a brutal emotional impact. She singles out Boseman’s intense final performance and Davis’s commanding portrayal of Ma Rainey for praise. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/ma-rainey-black-bottom-review-viola-davis-chadwick-boseman/)
- **Paste**, Jacob Oller (8.8/10): Oller finds the film a moving tragedy, elevated by Boseman’s exceptional final performance. He praises the intimate ensemble scenes but faults the music sequences and some misplaced humor. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/netflix/ma-raineys-black-bottom-review)
- **Consequence**, Okla Jones (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the adaptation powerful and faithful to August Wilson’s play, with Boseman’s performance especially affecting. They also praise Viola Davis’s portrayal of Ma Rainey and the film’s depiction of the struggle to preserve Black artists’ work. [Read](https://consequence.net/2020/12/film-review-ma-raineys-black-bottom/)
- **The Ringer**, Lex Pryor (85/100, inferred): Pryor finds the film wrenching and among the year’s most moving, balancing pain with survival and joy. He especially praises Viola Davis’s commanding portrayal of Ma Rainey and Chadwick Boseman’s haunting final performance. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2020/12/22/movies/ma-raineys-black-bottom-review-netflix-movie-chadwick-boseman)
- **NME** (80/100, inferred): The review finds the adaptation a fitting, powerful swansong, though it remains dialogue-heavy. It especially praises Boseman’s moving performance and Davis’s commanding portrayal of Ma Rainey. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/ma-raineys-black-bottom-review-chadwick-boseman-2821770)
- **The Wrap** (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the adaptation stage-bound but ultimately compelling because of its exceptional performances. Boseman’s crackling portrayal of Levee is singled out as perhaps his finest screen performance. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/ma-raineys-black-bottom-film-review-viola-davis-chadwick-boseman-netflix/)
- **Digital Spy**, Gabriella Geisinger (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film compelling overall, though its stage-like presentation can make it hard to stay engaged. Boseman and Davis’s performances are singled out as exceptional. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a34739523/ma-raineys-black-bottom-review-chadwick-boseman/)
- **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (65/100, inferred): Kermode finds the film a carefully crafted showcase for Chadwick Boseman, despite some awkwardness from its stage origins. She especially praises the performances and production design, while noting that the speeches can feel strained in their cinematic surroundings. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/ma-raineys-black-bottom-2021-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)
- **HeyUGuys**, Adam Solomons (35/100, inferred): The review finds the film constrained and underdeveloped, with a hastened ending that leaves questions unanswered. It praises Chadwick Boseman’s compelling final performance and says Viola Davis’s presence deserved more room. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/ma-raineys-black-bottom-review/)

## Details

- **Director:** George C. Wolfe
- **Director:** George C. Wolfe
- **Screenplay:** Ruben Santiago-Hudson
- **Cinematography:** Tobias A. Schliessler
- **Editor:** Andrew Mondshein
- **Music:** Branford Marsalis
- **Production design:** Mark Ricker
- **Costume design:** Ann Roth
- **Producer:** Todd Black, Dany Wolf, Denzel Washington
- **Cast:** Viola Davis as Ma Rainey; Chadwick Boseman as Levee; Colman Domingo as Cutler; Glynn Turman as Toledo; Michael Potts as Slow Drag; Jeremy Shamos as Irvin; Jonny Coyne as Sturdyvant; Taylour Paige as Dussie Mae
- **Runtime:** 1h 33m
- **First release (the US):** 25 November 2020
- **Genres:** Drama, Music
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ord7gP151vk

## Where to watch in Czechia

- Netflix: streaming

*Checked 2026-09-27.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Dorian Award for LGBTQ Film of the Year 2020: Dorian Award for LGBTQ Film of the Year (won)

## If you liked this

- *Fences* (2016), Fi1m 70: Denzel Washington’s earlier Wilson adaptation; a back yard, a father and the same long speeches. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/fences.md)
- *Bessie* (2015): Queen Latifah as Bessie Smith, with Mo’Nique as a very different Ma Rainey.
- *12 Angry Men* (1957), Fi1m 91: One hot room, twelve men and an argument; the model for this kind of confinement. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/12-angry-men.md)
- *Round Midnight* (1986): Dexter Gordon in Paris; jazz as a life rather than a soundtrack.
- *Cadillac Records* (2008): Chicago, a record label and the question of who got paid, told faster and looser.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/ma-raineys-black-bottom