Queen Latifa owns her role and the growth of Bessie Smith from beginning to end. The movie is subtle and the scenes well organized so that her life feels as disjointed and tragic as Bessie herself would have felt. The ending, where she is talking about bravely moving into the future, could have been the day she died. The effect is powerful and heartbreaking. The director does an incredible job of show don't tell.
Mo'Nique is a treasure as Ma Rainey. They both deserved Emmy's and I'm glad this has a resurgence and opportunity to be seen again, especially in light of current history. These powerful and complicated women have an excellent representation in this movie.
It also does an amazing job of showing how accepted, natural, and prevalent queer expression was, compared to attitudes of decades following, even today. That's important history to understand and acknowledge.
Mo'Nique is a treasure as Ma Rainey. They both deserved Emmy's and I'm glad this has a resurgence and opportunity to be seen again, especially in light of current history. These powerful and complicated women have an excellent representation in this movie.
It also does an amazing job of showing how accepted, natural, and prevalent queer expression was, compared to attitudes of decades following, even today. That's important history to understand and acknowledge.