Across Pacific Magazine


Amazing Grace


Film review by Kam Williams

Life of Leading Brit Abolitionist Recalled by Brilliant Bio-Pic

William Wilberforce (1759-1833) was born into a well-to-do family of British merchants. Amazing Grace 1He attended Cambridge University which is where he forged an enduring friendship with William Pitt the Younger (Benedict Cumberbatch), a classmate who would become England's youngest Prime Minister a few years after graduation.

Rather than follow in his father's footsteps, Wilberforce also opted to enter politics, and was first elected to Parliament at the age of 21, representing Yorkshire. Inspired to serve more by humanitarian interests than by blind ambition, the young philanthropist soon became a leading advocate of social reform.

But he really found his true calling after becoming an Evangelical Christian when he came under the influence of abolitionists like Thomas Clarkson (Rufus Sewell) and John Newton (Albert Amazing Grace 2Finney), the remorseful, former slave ship captain who had written the hymn Amazing Grace following a dramatic religious conversion. Wilberforce experienced a similar transformational spiritual encounter which prompted him to lobby tirelessly against slavery for the next 20 years.

And it is this uphill battle which is vividly recounted in Amazing Grace, a compelling bio-pic from veteran director Michael Apted, who is probably best known for the 7 UP series of documentaries. Here, Apted ever so convincingly conveys the notion that an impassioned idealist is just as capable of shaping history as the monarchs and military heroes who are typically the subject of this sort of costume drama...

Genres: Art/Foreign, Drama, Thriller and Politics/Religion
Running Time: 1 hr. 51 min.
Release Date: February 23rd, 2007 (limited)
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic material involving slavery, and some mild language.
Distributors:
Samuel Goldwyn Films, Roadside Attractions

William Wilberforce led efforts as a member of Parliament in 18th-century England to end slavery and the slave trade in the British empire. Wilberforce was elected to the House of Commons at 21 and took on the issue of slavery, successfully assembling a diverse coalition that went up against the most powerful men of the time.

Though it's not as inspiring as its makers might have wished, it's a solid, respectful treatment of a significant episode in the anti-slavery movement. - Frank Swietek

Amazing Grace marks an unforgettable and regrettable time in world history while highlighting a few who valiantly set out to right the wrongs. - Diana Saenger

Like Steven Spielberg's glossy Amistad before it, Amazing Grace shies away from the texture and complexity of color, scurrying instead for the safer platitudes of black and white -- good and evil. - Bruce Newman

History purists will find the details enchanting, period drama fanatics will adore the arm's-length posture of the piece, and the true-life tale is one worth being told. - Brian Orndorf






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