Studio - Netflix
Writer - Ruben Santiago Hudson
Director - George C. Wolfe
Release - 18 December 2020
When a movie is shot like a play, it doesn't feel like it's a movie. It's still like watching a play. I'm of the mindset that if you are making a movie, then adapt it to play like a movie.
But as far as adaptation goes, this one was really good. And in order to have a movie that plays like a play, you would need a competent cast. This cast was brilliant, led by Viola Davis; and, I didn't know it yet while watching the trailer, also by Chadwick Boseman.
Both leads could very well pick up Academy Award nominations here. And with the amount of love and respect that has poured in after the passing of Boseman, the academy may just give it to him post-humously - not because this would be the last chance to make him an Oscar winner but because he was that good. (We'll have to see if anyone blows the competition out of the water in the next few months.)
And, of course, Viola Davis is also a front-runner to win right now. You don't even recognize her anymore and she brought so many different layers to Ma Rainey.
Like Fences, the movie was produced by Denzel Washington, it was very heavy in dialogue and used only a couple of sets for the entire movie. But it was the dialogue that really captured the story. And It was also Boseman's performance and delivery that made the movie most memorable.
Boseman has never portrayed a character this young and innocent and, in a sense, immature. It was truly a different side of him, and this was easily his best.
But because the movie played like a play, the final scenes felt a little rushed and artificial. I thought there wasn't enough motivation shown on the screen for Boseman's character to do what he did. And there was no reaction from the others around him to make the moment feel more realistic.
Still, the storytelling by George C. Wolfe made this movie very easy to watch; and one befitting the king as his final performance.
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