Latifah is Bessie Smith, blues singer back in the day, during the 1920s and 1930s. Smith had a pretty rough childhood. After her parents died, she and her brother performed on the streets for almost nothing. She was married, but the fact that she liked guys and girls probably didn't help. Although she did have that in common with Ma Rainey (MoNique). Rainey taught her the tricks of the trade, and gave her a step up. Not a lot of singing here... I was hoping that we'd see some good ol blues singing. We DO see that Smith was large and in charge. One big minus is the way they ended the film... we kind of left her at the top of her success. Tragically, Smith died SO young at 43 after a double car accident, weirdest thing ever... a second car hit her after she had already been hit the first time! Written by Dee Rees and Horton Foote. Directed by Rees. Co-stars Michael Williams as hubby Jack. Imdb has this listed as 1 hour, 55 minutes, but hbomax shows 1 hour 51 minutes. Was something edited out? It's pretty good, but could have been better. Although to be fair, there aren't many films highlighting Smith's life.
