18
Dec
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a powerful, slow-building, jangling film that’s full of life. It may feel loose, but from the script to the cast, there’s not an ounce of fat on it. When the time comes, it delivers a brutal gut-punch, and then one more for the road. Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis take up all the oxygen every time they’re in the room, which makes the anticipation of their eventual showdown feel breathless. In sweltering 1927 Chicago, the legendary “Mother of the Blues” Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) is in town to record an album; her panic-y white manager…
