How disappointing! The acting is good, the music is great (although there is very little of it), and it being stagey wouldn't be an issue... if it weren't so poorly written and reactionary.

Ma is portrayed as a complete diva. She is apparently aware that she is being taken advantage of by her agent and the record producers, but instead of, say, trying to negotiate for a better offer (royalties?), demanding that they treat the black studio musicians better, or helping other black musicians get started, she uses her clout for petty things like getting a coke and forcing the studio to use her [spoiler]stuttering nephew[/spoiler]. Not exactly a sympathetic portrayal! "I know they'll stop caring about me as soon as they have the recording, so I'm going to make sure I get my coke first!" :rolling_eyes:

The studio musicians are portrayed as constantly bickering and dissatisfied. The scenes where they seem to enjoy playing music are short and quickly over, then they go back to arguing heatedly about different topics. They never seriously discuss music. These dialogues and monologues cover the usual topics that you would expect (race, religion, etc.), and offer no new insights. It's tragic how cruelly African Americans were treated at that time, and how cruelly they are still treated. But there's nothing in these talky scenes that offers an innovative perspective, rallies people towards progress, or connects the abuses of the past to present conditions.

Worst of all, the difficulty of Ma, Levee, and the others towards the recording studio - their capricious demands, constant arguing, and [spoiler] literal murder [/spoiler] - seem to narratively justify the ultimate and inevitable betrayal. Why wouldn't they [spoiler] record Levee's stolen songs with a white band? Levee's probably in jail, and perhaps the white band would be less demanding and less violent. They could have shown the white band being unreasonable while the producers were deferential towards them, and it might have softened the blow, but they didn't. [/spoiler] I suppose the point is the tragedy, that outbursts caused by the oppression and abuse lead to justifications for more oppression and abuse. At least, this is what the movie seems to suggest, and it's a shame.

There's also definite homophobic subtext here. Ma's affections for Dussie Mae seem almost predatory in the few scenes where they are hinted at, and Dussie is portrayed as apparently only being with Ma for her money and fame, since she [spoiler] sleeps with Levee at the drop of a hat in the studio, and talks about wanting new clothes with Ma [/spoiler]. In other words, there's no indication of sincere love or affection between Ma and Dussie. Dussie, although apparently based on Bessie Smith, seems to have no interest in learning about music. Ma, rather than mentoring her, just yells at her not to flaunt herself and to stay out of the way. Charming.

It is remarkable and sad that the writer took a source of such rich subject matter as Ma Rainey and turned it into this movie.