Amazing Grace: Review By Brian

Amazing Grace is the uplifting tale of the not as well known William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd). A devout abolitionist and man of religious conviction, he was in constant conflict with his goals in this strongly directed film from Michael Apted. Wilberforce's central conflict is that he feels slavery should be abolished, but at the same time he is not well and he also has a new awakening with God. While he never seems to waver from either of these beliefs, his commitment to his cause takes a very drastic toll on him both mentally and physically. Amazing Grace moves into and out of various periods in his life. We open with his failure to get a major anti-abolition bill passed in Parliament in the 18th Century, then we see him get inspired again through his relationship with Barbara (Romola Garai); William's eventual wife, and lastly we see his ultimate victory of helping to stop slavery within the British Empire.

Michael Apted has made a very strong film. Amazing Grace is filled with strong performances, and a director that is working at the height of his game. My biggest complaint about this film is that I felt it was overly long in parts. With a run time of almost two hours, it would seem that Wilberforce's triumphant story could have been told with 10 or 20 minutes less of screentime. This is my only complaint about this well put together film. There are no false notes with Apted really capturing the look and time of 18th Century England. There is a richness to each frame and the compositions are so strong that this film recalls other movies about this similar time period.

In addition to Apted's work are the stand out performances from Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai and Albert Finney as John Newton. Newton had a profound effect on bringing the awful treatment of slaves to William Wilberforce's attention, and the scenes between Gruffudd and Finney are some of the most moving in the film. Gruffudd brings a concentrated, ethical position to the role of William Wilberforce. At all times in the film he seems to be weighing every decision with both emotional longing and emotional indifference. Gruffudd really seems to be channeling the conflict people often endure when they feel compelled to do the right thing. Lastly, Romola Garai brings a strength to her role as Barbara Wilberforce. She loves her husband but at the same time, she seems confused by what he is willing to do to himself in order to achieve his goals. This conflict is at the heart of their relationship because when they meet it is clear that Wilberforce is ill. Barbara knows she is going to be his caretaker, but she also knows that she is going to help a man achieve greatness.

Amazing Grace is the kind of film that will be talked about like such movies as Braveheart, Gandhi, and Malcolm X. Yes, it seems that the other men are better known than William Wilberforce, but that probably has more to do with when these great men accomplished the tremendous things they did, than it does with the size of their accomplishments.