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Bessie

Bessie

Drama · Music · TV Movie · 2015

The story of legendary blues performer, Bessie Smith, who rose to fame during the 1920s and '30s.

Movie details

Bessie

“Survival began with a song”

2015 Drama · Music · TV Movie 1h 47m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

The story of legendary blues performer, Bessie Smith, who rose to fame during the 1920s and '30s.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Bessie?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Dee Rees

Written by

Dee Rees · Horton Foote · Bettina Gilois · Christopher Cleveland

Queen Latifah

Queen Latifah

Bessie Smith

Mo'Nique

Mo'Nique

Ma Rainey

Mike Epps

Mike Epps

Richard

Tika Sumpter

Tika Sumpter

Lucille

Michael Kenneth Williams

Michael Kenneth Williams

Jack Gee

Charles S. Dutton

Charles S. Dutton

William 'Pa' Rainey

Bryan Greenberg

Bryan Greenberg

John Hammond

Court is in session

Put Bessie on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.