''Bessie'' is an

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...

TV film about the American blues singer

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and ...

, and focuses on her transformation as a struggling young singer into "The Empress of the Blues". The film is directed by Dee Rees, with a screenplay by Rees, Christopher Cleveland and Bettina Gilois. Queen Latifah stars as Smith, and supporting roles are played by

Michael Kenneth Williams Michael Kenneth Williams (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He rose to fame in 2002 through his critically acclaimed role as Omar Little on the HBO drama series ''The Wire''. He has been described as a "singular pre ...

as Smith's first husband Jack Gee, and

Mo'Nique Monique Angela Hicks (née Imes; born December 11, 1967), known professionally as Mo'Nique, is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She has received an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. She ...

Ma Rainey Gertrude "Ma" Rainey ( Pridgett; April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939) was an American blues singer and influential early blues recording artist. Dubbed the "Mother of the Blues", she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of s ...

. The film premiered on May 16, 2015. By the following year ''Bessie'' was the most watched HBO original film in the network's history. The film was well received critically and garnered four

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...

, winning for Outstanding Television Movie.

Synopsis

Bessie Smith (Queen Latifah) is a young singer from

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...

. She and her siblings are orphaned when their parents, William and Laura, die, leaving their oldest sister, Viola (Khandi Alexander), to raise them. Viola is abusive and vicious and Bessie's childhood is unhappy. She along with her brother Clarence (Tory Kittles) scrape by working for local vaudeville shows. Her stage ambitions are frustrated by producers unwilling to feature dark-skinned Black women in their shows. Bessie sneaks onto traveling performer

's (Mo'Nique) train compartment and asks to join her show. Ma Rainey takes Bessie under her wing and helps her develop her abilities until Bessie's popularity causes a schism between the two women. Bessie leaves with Clarence to start her own show. In addition to her lover Lucille (Tika Sumpter), Bessie begins a tumultuous relationship with Jack Gee (Michael K. Williams), a security guard who later becomes her husband and manager. After a humiliating rejection from the newly formed

Black Swan Records Black Swan Records was an American jazz and blues record label founded in 1921 in Harlem, New York. It was the first widely distributed label to be owned, operated, and marketed to African Americans. (Broome Special Phonograph Records was the firs ...

, Jack manages to get Bessie a record deal with Columbia Records. Immense success follows, though Bessie encounters difficulties, including a stabbing attack after a show in her hometown, racism from white guests during an affluent party, and an attack during her show by the Ku Klux Klan, whom she courageously chases off. Eventually, Bessie reconciles with Viola, and moves her and all of her siblings into a mansion to live with her. The move causes additional tension with Jack, and Bessie pushes him further by adopting a young boy, whom she names Jack Jr., as their son. Eventually, Lucille leaves Bessie to have her own life. Despite her own affair with bootlegger Richard Morgan (Mike Epps), Bessie is infuriated upon discovering that Jack is bankrolling his mistress, up and coming performer Gertrude Saunders. After a violent quarrel, Jack leaves her. Bessie spirals into depression and alcohol. Jack returns, kidnapping Jack Jr. with the assistance of Viola, and takes him to live with him, contending that Bessie is an unfit mother. During the Great Depression, Bessie's fortune evaporates, forcing her and Clarence to move into a small apartment. Bessie reconciles with Ma Rainey and takes some time to recuperate from her personal losses. Eventually, she accepts Richard's love for her and the two begin a relationship. After hearing

Lucille Bogan Lucille Bogan (born Lucile Anderson; April 1, 1897August 10, 1948) was an American classic female blues singer and songwriter, among the first to be recorded. She also recorded under the pseudonym Bessie Jackson. Music critic Ernest Borneman no ...

's licentious hit song "Til the Cows Come Home", Bessie performs once again and meets a young John Hammond in 1932 who wishes to produce her comeback tour. Bessie's comeback is a success and she later reflects on her life while discussing the future with Richard.

Cast

* Queen Latifah as

Michael K. Williams Michael Kenneth Williams (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He rose to fame in 2002 through his critically acclaimed role as Omar Little on the HBO drama series ''The Wire''. He has been described as a "singular pre ...

as Jack Gee, Bessie's husband *

Khandi Alexander Harriet Rene "Khandi" Alexander (born September 4, 1957) is an American dancer, choreographer, and actress. She began her career as a dancer in the 1980s and was a choreographer for Whitney Houston's world tours from 1988 to 1992. During the 199 ...

as Viola Smith, Bessie's older sister *

* Mike Epps as Richard Morgan, a romantic interest of Bessie's and later, her lifetime companion *

Tory Kittles Tory Kittles is an American actor. He has appeared in the films '' Malibu's Most Wanted'' (2003), '' Get Rich or Die Tryin (2005), ''Next'' (2007), '' Miracle at St. Anna'' (2008), and '' Dragged Across Concrete'' (2018). He is known mostly fo ...

as Clarence Smith, Bessie's older brother * Tika Sumpter as Lucille, a romantic interest of Bessie's, a fictional character who is likely a composite of several of Smith's real life female companions and lovers *

Oliver Platt Oliver Platt (born January 12, 1960) is a Canadian-born American actor. He is known for his starring roles in many films such as ''Flatliners'' (1990), ''Beethoven'' (1992), ''Indecent Proposal'', ''The Three Musketeers'' (both 1993), ''Executiv ...

as Carl Van Vechten, artistic photographer *

Bryan Greenberg Bryan Greenberg (born May 24, 1978) is an American actor and singer, known for his starring role as Ben Epstein in the HBO original series ''How to Make It in America'' as well as a recurring role as Jake Jagielski in the WB series '' One Tree ...

as John Hammond, record producer and critic * Charles S. Dutton as William 'Pa' Rainey *Joe Knezevich as Frank Walker *

Jeremie Harris Jeremie Harris is an American actor. He is primarily known for his portrayal of Ptonomy Wallace in FX's ''Legion''. Biography Jeremie Harris grew up in New Rochelle where he had ambitions to become a basketball player. He gave up on this dream w ...

as Langston Hughes *Chantelle Rose as

Gertrude Saunders Gertrude C. Saunders (August 25, 1903 – April 1991) was an American singer, actress and comedian, active from the 1910s to the 1940s. Biography She was born in Asheville, North Carolina, and studied at Benedict College, Columbia before leav ...

Production

A first draft screenplay was written by playwright Horton Foote at a time when Columbia Pictures was slated to produce the film, but the project died when the studio became involved in a financial irregularity that threatened its existence. Mr. Foote purchased his screenplay back from Columbia and acquired the film rights from biographer Chris Albertson. In the early 1990s, when the possibility of producers

Richard D. Zanuck Richard Darryl Zanuck (December 13, 1934 – July 13, 2012) was an American film producer. His 1989 film ''Driving Miss Daisy'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Zanuck was also instrumental in launching the career of director Steven Spielb ...

and Lili Fini Zanuck taking over the project arose, Albertson suggested Queen Latifah for the lead, but the project lay dormant when financing could not be found. Upon Horton Foote's death in 2009, the script and film rights became the property of his daughter, actress

Hallie Foote Barbara Hallie Foote (born March 31, 1950) is an American actress. Life and career Born Barbara Hallie Foote in Manhattan, the daughter of Lillian Vallish Foote and writer and director Horton Foote, she was raised in Nyack, New York and New Hamps ...

, who took it to the Zanucks and HBO. Thus, press releases claim that ''Bessie'' has been "22 years in the making." As part of the HBO deal, Queen Latifah is credited as one of the executive producers. The project was filmed in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia. An early article announcing the HBO film indicated it would be based on ''Bessie'', a 1972 biography by

Chris Albertson Christiern Gunnar Albertson (October 18, 1931 – April 24, 2019) was a New York City-based jazz journalist, writer and record producer. Early life Albertson was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, on October 18, 1931, but his father left the family b ...

, but a year later the book was not included in the film's credits or promotion, nor did the end result bear but a peripheral resemblance to Albertson's book. An HBO interview with director and screenwriter Dee Rees inquired which books were most influential to her research. Rees replied, "''Blues Legacies and Black Feminism'' by

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member of ...

; ''Blues Empress in Black Chattanooga: Bessie Smith and the Emerging Urban Sout''h b
Michelle Scott
and

Jamaica Kincaid Jamaica Kincaid (; born May 25, 1949) is an Antiguan-American novelist, essayist, gardener, and gardening writer. She was born in St. John's, Antigua (part of the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda). She lives in North Bennington, Verm ...

's book, ''Autobiography of My Mother'', really informed me visually and thematically. "

Reception

The film received positive reviews from critics, with many critics praising the performances of Queen Latifah, Mo'Nique, and Michael K. Williams, while criticizing the use of the "Hollywood biopic" formula. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a score of 91% based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Strong performances, led by Queen Latifah, overpower a middling script in the entertaining and informative ''Bessie''." Metacritic gave the film a score of 75 out of 100 based on 20 critic reviews. As of 2016, Bessie remained the most watched HBO original movie of all time with 1.34 million viewers and an 18–49 demo rating of 0.4.

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{Dee Rees 2015 television films 2015 films 2015 biographical drama films 2015 LGBT-related films African-American films African-American biographical dramas African-American LGBT-related films African-American musical films American biographical films American LGBT-related films Biographical films about singers Biographical television films Bisexuality-related films Cultural depictions of Bessie Smith Films directed by Dee Rees Films scored by Rachel Portman Films set in the 1920s Films set in the 1930s Films shot in Atlanta HBO Films films Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie winners The Zanuck Company films American drama television films 2010s American films