Bessie

Bessie is a biopic about Bessie Smith that aired on HBO. Director Dee Rees makes an overall great film. The best decision Dee Rees made with the film was to leave the character on a high note.

Bessie follows Bessie Smith and her journey to stardom during the Harlem renaissance. Smith initially gets her start as a protege of Ma Rainey. Ma teaches her how to perform and also the freedom to be openly queer within the jazz scene. However, Bessie eventually outgrows Ma Rainey and sets out to create her own show. She has a great deal of professional success which is mixed in with her messy personal life. Bessie has an impoverished sister she’s on the outs with, a very toxic marriage and also a girlfriend named Lucille who’s just sort of there. Eventually, her marriage breaks down and her success falters. However, the film ends on the positive note of her in a happy relationship and mounting a successful comeback.

Smith was notable bisexual and I’m so glad we live in a time where a biopic about her is made that doesn’t erase that. If anything, queerness is really celebrated here. The film also touches on Ma Rainey’s sexual fluidity and how both she and Bessie were able to be openly queer without question within the Jazz community. Historically, Bessie was a freewheeling bisexual with many lovers. The film truncates those lovers down to one woman named Lucille. This does change the perspective of Bessie’s queerness from a casual enjoyment of many women to one committed relationship with a woman.

Admittedly, Bessie’s queerness falls into the background once her husband, Jack Gee enters the picture. But that’s fine. The first act did the work of ensuring its audience knew Bessie was bisexual and didn’t give a damn. Even as she and Jack’s relationship becomes the focus, Lucy is still there and Bessie still makes out with her in elevators sometimes. Lucille does eventually leave which was probably the right move because the movie hadn’t had anything useful for her to do since the first act.

What’s great about Bessie is how proactive Bessie is as a protagonist. In biopics and historical films, especially ones about women/people of colour/queer people, there’s a tendency for the lead character to be rather passive. History is made around them but the character doesn’t necessarily participate or at least intend to. Bessie instead has a character who not only takes control of her own lifeMo’Nique but intentionally does rally against racist systems. At one point, the klan attacks an outdoor concert Bessie is throwing. A lot of movies might have left it at that; a scene with the presence of the KKK to establish that racism exists. Not here! Bessie actually attacks and successfully chases the Klan off. This allows the scene to not only depict the racism of the period but also Bessie as a proactive character.

Bessie Smith died at age 43 in an automobile accident. The film doesn’t show this or even mention this. Director Dee Rees said she wanted Bessie to end with a win and that was the correct choice. There is movie after movie about marginalized people in ages past experiencing tragedy. And while in a biopic it’s a totally valid choice to show how the subject died, it’s not necessary. If people want to know what happened next to here, it’s common knowledge and the internet exists. But not mentioning Bessie’s early death, the film instead is a celebration of her life. It allows this film featuring a full-figured, black, queer woman to be a film that’s ultimately triumphant instead of tragic.

Bessie was a really good biopic. I wish it had gotten a theatrical release. Dee Rees is a great director. She’s very good at visual storytelling and her choice of focus and themes for this film were completely right. Queen Latifah also gives a wonderful lead performance as Bessie Smith. There are already so few WLW films with black leads and fewer still that are biopics or period dramas. Not only is Bessie both but it makes the correct choice to not end in tragedy, focusing instead on the life of this American music icon.

Overall rating: 8.4/10

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