Amazing Grace
Michael Apted's new film is pretty damn good! I wasn't sure whether I would like it or not but I most certainly did.
The film is the story of the marvelous and rebellious William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) who helped stop the slave trade in Britain as well as pioneering other important reforms. Wilberforce was an idealist and wants change but he has a great deal of opposition in Parliament as many members thought that money was more important than human life (that is still true even in this day and age - and yes, slavery still exists). However, slowly but surely Wilberforce turns things around.
Apted gets good performances out of the whole cast and Steven Knight's script is well written. It is wonderful to see so many great actors in one film. Gruffudd gives a very believable performance as the passionate Wilberforce. Joining him are Ciaran Hinds and Toby Jones as men who want to keep the slave trade business intact. The terrific actors who are in his camp are Michael Gambon as Lord Charles Fox, Stephen Campbell Moore as James Stephen, Rufus Sewell as Thomas Clarkson and Benedict Cumberbatch as Prime Minister William Pitt. Also doing very fine work is Romola Garai as Wiberforce's wife Barbara (who shares all of his views), Albert Finney as John Newton (the former slave owner who repented and wrote Amazing Grace) and making his film debut as the former slave Oloudagh Equiano is the marvelous Senegalese singer Yossou N'Dor.
Amazing Grace explores a period in history that I knew little about but I want to do some research on. Besides being anti slavery Wilberforce was passionate about free education, prison reform and animal protection (he started the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) among other things. While watching the film I thought to myself that we need more people like Wilberforce out there today. I found this film very inspiring and it made me want to do more to try and make the world a better place. And while not a perfect film it is very good and I highly recommend it to all of those who want to see how just one person can really make a difference.
The film is the story of the marvelous and rebellious William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) who helped stop the slave trade in Britain as well as pioneering other important reforms. Wilberforce was an idealist and wants change but he has a great deal of opposition in Parliament as many members thought that money was more important than human life (that is still true even in this day and age - and yes, slavery still exists). However, slowly but surely Wilberforce turns things around.
Apted gets good performances out of the whole cast and Steven Knight's script is well written. It is wonderful to see so many great actors in one film. Gruffudd gives a very believable performance as the passionate Wilberforce. Joining him are Ciaran Hinds and Toby Jones as men who want to keep the slave trade business intact. The terrific actors who are in his camp are Michael Gambon as Lord Charles Fox, Stephen Campbell Moore as James Stephen, Rufus Sewell as Thomas Clarkson and Benedict Cumberbatch as Prime Minister William Pitt. Also doing very fine work is Romola Garai as Wiberforce's wife Barbara (who shares all of his views), Albert Finney as John Newton (the former slave owner who repented and wrote Amazing Grace) and making his film debut as the former slave Oloudagh Equiano is the marvelous Senegalese singer Yossou N'Dor.
Amazing Grace explores a period in history that I knew little about but I want to do some research on. Besides being anti slavery Wilberforce was passionate about free education, prison reform and animal protection (he started the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) among other things. While watching the film I thought to myself that we need more people like Wilberforce out there today. I found this film very inspiring and it made me want to do more to try and make the world a better place. And while not a perfect film it is very good and I highly recommend it to all of those who want to see how just one person can really make a difference.
posted by Film Fanatic | 1:57 PM
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