Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

The late, great Chadwick Boseman appears on screen for the final time in this fiery take on the August Wilson play about the exploitation of black musicians. Set in 1920s Chicago during the fraught recording of the titular track, the film sees Viola Davis playing "Mother of the Blues" Ma Rainey. A diva with a haunted look in her eyes, Ma wields what little power she has to make her white manager (Jeremy Shamos) sweat. Meanwhile, Boseman plays Levee, an ambitious trumpeter in Ma's band who changes up the musical arrangement and fancies Ma's girlfriend (Taylour Paige). Sexual, creative and religious tensions surface, alongside the ever-present racial inequality, while tragedies are shared and tempers flare. The rhythm and fervour of Wilson's words remain intact (screenwriter Ruben Santiago-Hudson adapts), while director George C Wolfe poignantly conveys the fact that the blues come from a place of suffering. Davis mesmerically balances ego and insecurity, and Boseman gives a kaleidoscopic performance as the charismatic, volatile Levee. While it is heartbreaking to watch, it's a hell of a way to go out.