It appears that Chadwick Boseman’s legacy lives on long after his passing. Especially for his last film: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom poster.
His last performance is the best.

The Official Oscars Website revealed that Chadwick Boseman’s performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is now being nominated for the 93rd Academy Awards. This is quite an achievement for many reasons. Not least of which is that he has been dead since August 28, 2020. It appears that for his last act, Boseman won the hearts of the critics and audiences alike. Not bad, man. Not bad at all.

Chadwick Boseman: The Last Act Wins

So dramatic. Depressing plot though.

There’s something depressingly fitting about Chadwick Boseman’s last performance being in a drama film with no happy ending for practically any one of the main characters. It’s almost like he’s shouting it out on the big screen that yeah, he’s going to die soon. But, he wants to make his last act the most memorable he can possibly make it. Given that Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom got 98% from Rotten Tomatoes, I dare say that he succeeded.

Chadwick Boseman as Levee.
Smug look, but he deserves it.

I wonder how much of Chadwick Boseman’s condition at the time affected his performance? I don’t think that we’ll ever know for certain. My guess though is: a lot. Based on what we know of Boseman, he was in the final stages of colon cancer at the time he was acting in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The pain he depicted onscreen was almost certainly as real as the actual pain he felt. All in all, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a fitting and successful encore for him before his grand exit. May he rest in peace.

Conclusion

Chadwick Boseman’s performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom got him a posthumous nomination for an Academy Award. It’s a fitting end for Boseman, in many ways. And it’s a nice award to add to all the other awards the film got. Catch the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony on April 25, 2021 to see if Boseman gets the award, even in death.

Source: The Official Oscars Website