The first trailer for Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom has arrived and it gets the blues.
Viola Davis stars as Ma, the iconic “Mother of the Blues,” while Chadwick Boseman tackles what would sadly be his final role as the driven trumpet master, Levee. The film is based on the legendary play by August Wilson, the Pulitzer Prize winner. The Broadway masterpiece has long been discussed being brought to the silver screen. But fate is a funny thing. Sometimes it takes a while for things like this to happen and rightfully so because Davis and Boseman could not be better choices to embody these characters.
George C. Wolfe, himself a beloved playwright, directed this adaptation of the story that puts a spotlight on the lasting power of the blues and more importantly, those who live to bring it to life. Denzel Washington appeared in the screen version of Wilson’s Fences, serves as the film’s producer.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is set in the 1920s and finds most of its narrative surrounding a recording session in Chicago, where the temperature outside is as hot as the music inside.
The film has Oscar written all over it, the latest from Netflix after their stunning Da 5 Bloods (which also features Boseman) and last week’s arrival of The Trial of the Chicago 7.
Look for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom on Netflix on December 18.