| Published: Waubonsee Insight |
| Date: April 2007 |
| Section: Arts and Entertainment |
| Comments: |
 |
By: Ian Essling
After the American Revolution, Britain was not exactly the most economically stable place on earth. The slave trade was heralded as a major source of income and the lifeblood of coastal towns, and those who stood up against slavery were called anti-establishment at best and traitors to the crown at worst. Outspoken British abolitionist William Wilberforce was one of those men.
Amazing Grace chronicles Wilberforce's 18-year struggle in the British Parliament, as he introduced bill after bill to abolish the slave trade, only to watch them fail spectacularly.
The title for the movie comes from the song, of course, and the connection to the movie is that the author of the hymn, John Newton, was actually Wilberforce's mentor of many years. The evangelical leader helps Wilberforce when the latter is at a very sharp crossroads in his life, and appears several times in the movie, at different points in Wilberforce's life.
Newton is basically the moral compass and advisor to Wilberforce as he goes through troubling times where he doubts not only himself, but also his faith.
For a movie about the British parliamentary process, Amazing Grace does not drag at all. The movie clocks in at nearly two hours, but you won't be checking your watch. The movie balances out time spent in the Parliament room with time spent in Wilberforce's home or time spent with his activist group, the Clapham Sect.
Wilberforce delves very deeply into the abolitionist movement, and while he does things to learn for himself how slaves are treated (such as walling himself into a box the size of a berth in a slave ship), the viewers are also exposed to the horrors of slavery first hand.
There's nothing graphic enough to scare away a weak stomach, but seeing the actual shackles, living conditions and how slaves were treated makes it more personal for both Wilberforce and the viewers he is taking with him on his journey.
Frequent jumps through time also help with the pace of the movie. When the movie starts off in the present day and quickly jumps back in time fifteen years, you can easily see the contrast between the old and young Wilberforce, and you really want to sit back and see just what happened to him in the past to put him in the position he is now in.
That said, the transitions between time periods can be rough. It's nothing as confusing as a predestination paradox in a time travel movie, but you do have to be on your toes with some of the jumps, as a few of them leave you scrambling for a few seconds to figure out if it's past or present.
The cast is very solid; Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four, King Arthur) turns in a spectacular performance as William Wilberforce. The character goes through many changes over the course of the movie, from stalwart abolitionist, to a man unsure of his place in the world and more beyond that, but Gruffudd seemed very comfortable in each position.
I have to try very hard to think of a scene that he seemed awkward in, and the best I could come up with is a scene where he sings, but even that is excused because the song he's singing is the name of the movie.
Another notable performance is Rufus Sewell (I think he's best known for his portrayal of the arrogant love-to-hate character of Count Adhemar in A Knight's Tale, but he also played Armand in The Legend of Zorro). He plays Thomas Clarkson, a noted anti-slavery advocate who had a huge influence on the historical Wilberforce.
In Amazing Grace , Clarkson at times plays the role of Wilberforce's emotions; it almost seems like an internal struggle of emotion versus logic during some of the scenes they share.
Clarkson is around to remind Wilberforce about the stark side of the human element involved in slavery, and he helps to drive the legislation into Parliament through his hard work and determination behind the scenes of the abolitionist movement.
Wilberforce's love interest, Barbara (relative unknown Romola Garai, Vanity Fair), could have been developed further, and if the movie had been about a lighter topic than slavery I would say that this is definitely a flaw, but I feel that it fits.
The romance plays second fiddle to the story of putting forward the bills and feeling out the issue of slavery, and the trade-off is nice.
I think it would have seemed trite to have a steamy on-screen romance when the protagonist is trying to free an entire race from servitude, and the writers did a good job of using the romance to further the plot (instead of having the plot stop while the characters delve into their feelings).
In fact, almost every subplot in the movie feeds into the overarching challenge of taking down the slave trade, and it all culminates in the final few minutes of the movie. For a movie about the British political process, the final climax drags you to the edge of your seat, so sticking through some of the down parts is completely worth it.
Another well-done performance was Michael Gambon (Open Range, The Omen) as Lord Charles Fox, a savvy British politician who sides with the abolitionists.
The parliamentary process was very well done, and the historical accuracy of the movie was passable; considering Hollywood's track record for rewriting in the name of drama, it could have been much worse.
Obviously, there are some issues, especially with how some of the characters were used, but overall, the story is presented well.
The ending scene of Amazing Grace was very fitting and nicely done; after two hours of serious buildup, an ending that was too pedestrian would have severely damaged the movie, but instead, it really ties everything up and leaves the audience saying, 'wow.'
In all, Amazing Grace does a good job portraying the hellacious uphill battle faced by abolitionists in 18th century England, and along the way, takes viewers on an unforgettable tour of religion, morality, and human rights. |
