Bessie Page #2

Synopsis: The story of legendary blues performer Bessie Smith, who rose to fame during the 1920s and '30s.
Director(s): Dee Rees
Production: Zanuck Company
  Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 23 wins & 45 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.6
Rotten Tomatoes:
89%
TV-MA
Year:
2015
132 min
430 Views


Sing it, girl.

Lord, you see me

weepin'

And you hear me cry

I ain't weepin'

'bout no money

Just that man of mine

Lord, you see me

weepin'

And you hear me cry...

We got rehearsals

in the morning.

- I could be sleeping

or at least partying.

- Well, go on, then.

- I just wanna meet her.

- You can meet her tomorrow.

Man:

Mobile, Alabama,

we're on the road for a week,

then Gainesville, Florida.

- ( piano music playing )

- Oh, slow, slow, slow, baby.

Have mercy.

Contract's only four nights,

then we can go on to--

Why we backtracking

to Mississippi instead

of going to 'Bama?

Seem like we should

just go on from here,

maybe do a longer run

in Mobile, even add

Huntsville.

Well, we'll be

making it just in time

for cotton season

and catch everybody

with their pay, you know?

- ( distant

piano music playing )

- ( train hissing )

Oh, sh--

( train whistle blows )

Hey, get back here.

Man:

Besides, the harvest

don't start in Florida

- for another two weeks.

- Mm-hmm.

You've been using

that goober oil

like I told you?

Yes, ma'am.

Nice and soft.

Well, what about Tennessee?

You got Memphis,

you got Chattanoog-- oh!

- ( piano music stops )

- How'd you get in here?

- Can I join your show?

- You can see yourself out.

Where you from?

- Blue Goose Hollow.

- A who what?

That a street name?

Bessie:

Where I'm from, they don't

have no street names.

( chuckles )

That where your

people from, too?

They died a long time ago.

Well, the loneliest thing

in the world

is a motherless child.

Well, I got two brothers

and my sister Viola--

Well let me shave you dry.

They don't amount

to much, do they?

You on your own.

- ( train rumbles )

- ( crystals clinking )

- Well, Miss Blue Goose...

- Clarence:
Bessie!

- I thank you for calling.

- Bessie! Bessie, get down

from there.

- Do I audition or--

- Ma:
I heard you in the show.

I know you can sing.

So stay or jump, b*tch.

( chuckles )

- Well, the train is--

- I don't give a damn

about the train,

a thunderstorm,

a shotgun or what.

You just got to decide

for yourself.

Hell, you got

the St. Louis blues,

the Chicago blues,

the Gin House blues,

the "my man

done left me" blues.

They all the same song,

ain't they?

With the same three chords.

And you done heard 'em

about a dozen hundred times

from a dozen hundred people.

So what make folks

wanna hear from you?

So you got to put

something else in it.

The blues is not about

people knowing you.

It's about

you knowing people.

( train whistle blowing )

( patting )

Who done that

to you, huh?

Big old girl like you

letting folks beat on you.

This look like

it might stay forever.

( liquid pouring )

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Dee Rees

Diandrea "Dee" Rees (born February 7, 1977) is an American screenwriter and director. She is known for her feature films Pariah (2011), Bessie (2015), and Mudbound (2017). The latter was adapted from the 2008 novel by the same name by Hillary Jordan and earned Rees an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Rees has also written and directed episodes for television series including Empire, When We Rise, and Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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