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Poster for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

2020 · 93 min

A sweltering, talk-heavy pressure cooker of a film, with powerhouse performances and a mounting sense of injustice that lingers long after.

Directed by
George C. Wolfe
Genres
Drama, Music
Starring
Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Colman Domingo
Tagline
It would be an empty world without the blues.
Overview
Tensions rise when the trailblazing Mother of the Blues and her band gather at a Chicago recording studio in 1927. Adapted from August Wilson's play.

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Stream in the UK
  • Netflix
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
George C. Wolfe
Genres
Drama, Music
Starring
Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Colman Domingo
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 3 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • race
  • power
  • ambition
  • betrayal
  • music
Places
  • workplace
  • big city
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • single location
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language strong
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror1
Humour3
Realism8
Romance2
Tension8
Darkness7
Complexity6
Emotional weight8

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • Netflix

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, music
Directed by
George C. Wolfe
Written by
Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Starring
Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Jeremy Shamos, Jonny Coyne, Taylour Paige
Music
Branford Marsalis
Cinematography
Tobias A. Schliessler
Runtime
93 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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