Many viewers will come to the HBO biopic Bessie with scant knowledge of its subject, blues legend Bessie Smith.
But in the title role, Queen Latifah schools you with a bruising display of fierce drive, unstoppable talent and a gallery of personal demons.
"I felt like it was the role of a lifetime," says Latifah, 45, a multifaceted entertainer who has succeeded as a rap artist, sitcom star, talk-show host and movie actress in such films as Chicago and Hairspray.
Bessie, which debuted in the US on Saturday, also stars Khandi Alexander, Mo'Nique, Oliver Platt and Charles S Dutton. The film was in development for more than 20 years, with Queen Latifah always pegged to play a person she knew little of back then.
“There was no Google when this movie came to me,” she says. “It wasn’t like I could just pull it up on a computer and find out about her. So I bought the box set and started listening to her music. And initially I was terrified, because this music is so different, her voice is so different, from mine.”
The long delay was, in effect, a blessing, since it gave Queen Latifah a chance to grow into the role and to get more acclimatised to her own singing voice.
“I was able to figure out the parts that we could connect on, the parts of her way of singing that I could emulate in my way to show her style without being intimidated by the fact that I don’t have that voice – she’s a powerhouse. The music really helped me get closer to her, quicker, to really connect with her. She wrote all those songs – by learning them, I was able to feel her more.”
So intense was the connection during filming, Queen Latifah at times felt she could summon Bessie Smith from the great beyond.
"I would pray: Bessie help me out, help me do it the way you want it done, help me really be you. I hope I did a good job in her eyes, wherever she is in that great place in the sky. Because I didn't have a lot of reference: her music, and St Louis Blues [a 1929 two-reeler in which she starred], which is the only footage of her."
Queen Latifah found herself asking questions: "Why did she need this guy, and why did she need this woman? And why can't she say, 'I love you?' And why did she have to eat so much and drink so much and party so much?"
Discovering those answers called for a furious performance, including a brutal fight with her husband, Jack (Michael Kenneth Williams). “All that is what the role required,” says Queen Latifah matter-of-factly. “You have to honour the character. This is her truth. You may feel uncomfortable with certain scenes, but there are a lot of things to feel uncomfortable about. I was uncomfortable with her drinking too much, or getting stabbed and going right back on stage. And fighting with your man; the scenes with Mike where we had to fight were more draining than any kissing scenes.
“But who am I to not play her to the bone. Talk about ‘the show must go on’. This woman literally got stabbed, left the hospital, and went out and performed.”
The biggest challenge, she says, was the limited time – just days – between wrapping production of last season's The Queen Latifah Show before heading to Atlanta to join director Dee Rees and fellow cast members for the Bessie shoot.
Hosting her talk show, she could revel in being herself –which helps account for her disappointment at its recent cancellation – whereas the film obliged her to inhabit a complex character much different from herself from an era long past.
“But, for me, who lives for a challenge, this was perfect,” she says. “I need to feel the wind in my face. I need to feel the fear and do it anyway. That’s how I feel about characters that require that type of dedication. I can’t worry about Queen Latifah – who I am has to go out the window when you’re playing this character. ‘Let’s drive! Let’s take the seat belt off and do a hundred! Let’s go!’ That’s what it requires.”
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Pots for the Asian Qualifiers
Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka
UAE%20Warriors%2033%20Results
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Marital status: Single
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Poacher
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
8 UAE companies helping families reduce their carbon footprint
Greenheart Organic Farms
This Dubai company was one of the country’s first organic farms, set up in 2012, and it now delivers a wide array of fruits and vegetables grown regionally or in the UAE, as well as other grocery items, to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi doorsteps.
www.greenheartuae.com
Modibodi
Founded in Australia, Modibodi is now in the UAE with waste-free, reusable underwear that eliminates the litter created by a woman’s monthly cycle, which adds up to approximately 136kgs of sanitary waste over a lifetime.
www.modibodi.ae
The Good Karma Co
From brushes made of plant fibres to eco-friendly storage solutions, this company has planet-friendly alternatives to almost everything we need, including tin foil and toothbrushes.
www.instagram.com/thegoodkarmaco
Re:told
One Dubai boutique, Re:told, is taking second-hand garments and selling them on at a fraction of the price, helping to cut back on the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of clothes thrown into landfills each year.
www.shopretold.com
Lush
Lush provides products such as shampoo and conditioner as package-free bars with reusable tins to store.
www.mena.lush.com
Bubble Bro
Offering filtered, still and sparkling water on tap, Bubble Bro is attempting to ensure we don’t produce plastic or glass waste. Founded in 2017 by Adel Abu-Aysha, the company is on track to exceeding its target of saving one million bottles by the end of the year.
www.bubble-bro.com
Coethical
This company offers refillable, eco-friendly home cleaning and hygiene products that are all biodegradable, free of chemicals and certifiably not tested on animals.
www.instagram.com/coethical
Eggs & Soldiers
This bricks-and-mortar shop and e-store, founded by a Dubai mum-of-four, is the place to go for all manner of family products – from reusable cloth diapers to organic skincare and sustainable toys.
www.eggsnsoldiers.com
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
The%20pillars%20of%20the%20Dubai%20Metaverse%20Strategy
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Bridgerton%20season%20three%20-%20part%20one
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The biog
Age: 46
Number of Children: Four
Hobby: Reading history books
Loves: Sports
The Disaster Artist
Director: James Franco
Starring: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogan
Four stars
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
