Chadwick Boseman: Learning from an artist

Let me preface this by saying that this 'review' is not really a review. Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist, a 20-minute short documentary on the life of the late actor is not something that can be reviewed, but certainly has something that people can learn from.

Predominantly focussing on Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Boseman's final film appearance prior to his death last year, the Netflix documentary reveals through various people who taught him and worked with him the essence of a man who always sought to be better.

It would be right to say that Boseman had a large influence on the world of acting. Even though he attained true mainstream appeal with Marvel's Black Panther, those who have watched his previous works like 42 and Get on Up know the kind of dedication he put into his craft.

One of the most striking things in the documentary came from Viola Davis, his co-star on Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, who said: "Chadwick was one of those actors that scares you because you know you have to step up when you’re in his presence, that he is going to go 100 per cent. He just is, you feel it. He’s looking at your work and he’s like ‘I have to believe you in order to believe myself, in order to believe this, that we are in this world.’"

It also goes deep into the process he employed to get into the foot of his character, noting that he wanted to embody the 'essence' of the person he was playing, not merely 'imitate' them. From practicing James Brown's foot movements to learning to slide like Jackie Robinson, and even ensuring his T'Challa could be as good as possible.

Intertwined with footage of Boseman speaking about taking the hard way and what he felt art was, Portrait of an Artist is a good lesson to anyone seeking to do better in their path. Like Denzel Washington says, "Some people have a concentrated dose of life," and Boseman was just one of them.