You never know. And I hate that shit.
I want to be frustrated with the kid that always
sleeps in class. I would love to say something to the old lady that doesn't
pick up her dog's greasy shits in my yard (maybe even bag it up and stuff it
her mailbox). I'd kill to smash my car into the driver's side of that a-hole
that drifted in front of me while doing eighty and clearly on his phone.
But I can't. Or, at least...I won't. Because you
never know what people are going through, right? Maybe that kid's house is an
absolute nightmare. Maybe that lady has serious back problems and it's all she
can do to get outside with her pup. And that dickhead swerving around the
highway recklessly? Nah, no matter what...f--k him.
And f--k Levee Green, the protagonist of 2020's
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Unleashed upon us by an intermittently
charming/unflinchingly terrifying Chadwick Boseman, Levee is a tortured soul on
work release from his own personal Hell. Levee's got demons for sure, and
depending on who you ask - just might be one his own damn self.
Set in a sultry late 20's Chicago, a quartet of
musicians assemble for a day's worth of recording with the larger-than-life Ma
Rainey. Rainey's worked her way up, way up in fact, and can be counted on for a hit
record. She's good - real good - but like any star, she's a bit of a pain in
the ass (to put it mildly), too. But it's not like she doesn't have her
reasons, as her second-tier status as a black woman undercuts the shit out of her
value as an artist (not to mention person). Ma knows this, and ain't playing in the least. These white
dudes are making bank off her soul, swagger and sweat (lots of sweat), right? So she
digs in. Always. And you should too.
