"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" Trailer Gives Netflix More Oscar Potential

We get a peak into Chadwick Boseman’s final screen performance in the newest trailer from Netflix.

Netflix has just released the trailer for their latest 2020 awards contender “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” an adaptation of August Wilson’s play that stars actor Viola Davis in the title role, and Chadwick Boseman in one of his final performances.

Directed by George C. Wolfe, the film is part of producer Denzel Washington’s mission to bring all ten of Wilson’s Century Cycle plays to the screen, which deal with a different century of African American lifestyles. Washington previously starred, produced and directed in Fences which earned multiple award nominations including a Best Supporting Actress win for Davis.

The actress takes on the role of Ma Rainey, a legendary jazz singer who in 1927 took her successful band to Chicago to record a song. What follows is an exploration of race, music and how Black artists such as Ma struggled to record music in the way they wanted while under white management. Boseman portrays Levee, an ambitious and determined trumpet player who has romantic feelings for Ma, with Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo and Michael Potts rounding out the cast.

From the looks of the trailer, this seems ripe for awards attention. Davis really inhabits the role of Ma from the way she looks to how she sings and acts. The actress has gained a reputation for playing strong independent black women and this looks like another one of those. And of course we come to Boseman in what will be his swan song. The trailer shows that despite filming this while he was ill, he never lost his charisma or screen presence and what should have been the next stage of his career is now a reminder of what a great talent we lost too soon. Boseman has a very strong chance at getting a posthumous nod as Levee is a very strong role with Charles S. Dutton being nominated for a Tony for the role and you better Netflix will campaign hard on his behalf.

Potential acting nods aside, “Ma Rainey” has a strong chance at getting nominated in tech fields like Makeup, Costume and perhaps even Production Design or Sound as the trailer showcases a lot of strengths in these areas. Either way, be prepared to hear about this title quite a bit in the coming months.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom hits select theatres in November and then streams on Netflix December 18. Check out the trailer below and tell us if you think this will be an awards contender.