Chadwick Boseman, Viola Davis are dynamite in 'Ma Rainey'

Chadwick Boseman was a special actor. It may not have been apparent to us until it was too late, but when he passed away this year it hit a lot of us like a ton of bricks. He was both a star and a terrific actor, someone who invested his roles with passion and physicality. 

Anytime there's a posthumous release from an actor there's a tendency to invest to much in them, but this year, ironically enough -- two of Boseman's best performances in Da 5 Bloods and now Ma Rainey's Black Bottom have been released to great acclaim, and I'm happy to say it's deserved.

He looks considerably frailer here than he did in Spike Lee's war film and he very well may have been struggling in his courageous fight against cancer when he shot this August Wilson adaptation. His real life challenges only add more vulnerability to Levee the character he plays here -- an ambitious but also damaged trumpet player who plays in the band of legendary blueswoman Ma Rainey in 1927.

The action -- much of it claustrophobic takes place in a rehearsal hall and recording studio -- where Rainey (played brilliantly by Davis in a performance unlike any she's ever given) and her band do verbal (and sometimes verbal) battle amid a chaotic session. Their dialogue is never just about the music -- like all of the great playwright's work its concerns grapple with the toll racism can take on everyday and exceptional lives.

The film's great flaw is that it never really rises above the sensation of being a photographed play, albeit a gorgeously photographed one. The two major exceptions are the raucous opening number and the darkly ironic final one -- a perfect ending to a film that's more complex than it first appears to be,

It's impossible not to compare this film to Fences, the last high profile Wilson adaptation, which also starred Davis is a much different type of role. That film did a better job, in my opinion, of creating a world outside the insular, talky narrative. Wilson's dialogue can be florid and dense, sensational on stage I'm sure but not a natural fit for film. 

Still, his work is like fillet mignon for talented actors -- and yet again, Davis makes a feast of it. 

Here she has totally physically transformed herself into the rough and gruff Ma Rainey -- with heavy eye make-up, a mouthful of gold teeth and raunchy disposition -- this is not the sort of kind almost recessive character we're used to seeing her play. And what a relief! Davis clearly has been itching to show more sides of her persona and this is a big powerful tour de force from her.

Her scenes opposite Boseman -- who is playing a competitor not just within the band but also for the affections of Ma Rainey's trophy girlfriend as well -- are electric, and stand as a testament to their unique power as performers.

And in the end its all so bittersweet because Boseman is gone and if nothing else this film demonstrates how much potential he had. He gives this movie his all -- perhaps he knew it would be his last -- and while the film itself is not quite a masterpiece (it feels perhaps too small scaled) it will always be a testament to its stars' talent and a reminder to never take them for granted again.