Bessie (2015)
Running Time: 1hr 55ins
Bessie Smith (Queen Latifah) is the “Empress of the Blues,” but as anyone who has ever made it to the top can tell you, it all too often takes a lot of pain and heartache to get there. Born into poverty and raised by her sister, Bessie always had to rely on her talents to support herself and her family.
Bessie was a blues singer that was one of the highest-paid black performers of her time but her success didn’t come easily. She worked her way through the ranks of various traveling performance shows. Under the advice of Ma Rainey (Mo’Nique), she developed a popular and successful stage presence. She performed in shows and recorded songs and albums. Bessie was unapologetic, determined, and driven towards success. She was doing things that were unheard of for the time period. She had sexual relationships with both men and women, she drank, she cursed, she spit, she fought... She even took on the KKK at an outdoor performance, running them off like the cowards they were. She did all the things that were not acceptable for a woman to do in the early part of the 20th century—and she did them well.
In true Bessie-fashion, on her first date with her future husband, Jack Gee (Michael Kenneth Williams), they both got into a fight with some other patrons at a bar. Jack would later become her manager and the two would go on to develop a toxic relationship. Both were unfaithful within the marriage and were each equally jealous of the other people in their spouse’s life. Because Bessie was so successful, she continually supported her husband and other family members financially until the Great Depression took its toll on the whole country.
People couldn’t afford to eat, let alone go to shows and theaters and buy albums. Bessie's marriage dissolved, her family relationships suffered, and her financial empire dwindled. She had to settle back into a life of meager means. She never lost her love of singing or performing and would come back to recording music with a new style to fit the current musical trends a few years after the depression. She rekindled her love life with an old fling and she found happiness again doing what she loved to do most—sing.
Bessie is a great film and I Absolutely recommend it. After watching it and learning about Bessie Smith’s contributions to music and culture I wanted to know how much of it was true. From what I read, most of the film was derived from her real-life biography, which made me like the film even more. Bessie Smith was a remarkable woman and more people need to know about her and her accomplishments. Bessie was a fighter, a trailblazer, and a force to be reckoned with. This movie is a must-see.
As a side note, I might be a little partial to this film because I love Queen Latifah. I doubt I am being partial though—this movie was definitely a good one. She can act, she can sing, she can rap, and she can even play paintball (I knew someone that worked at a paintball facility years ago and she was a customer). From bumping “U.N.I.T.Y.” in my bedroom to watching Living Single, Set It Off, and Chicago, I think she’s amazing. She turns every role into gold and does each character complete justice. Whether or not she is a card-carrying member of our community doesn’t matter—that’s her business—but if nothing else, she is definitely an ally.
Bessie has been selected as a recipient of an ARC Award.
