I saw this movie at a special screening, tied in with a sojo.com event to raise awareness of the slavery that still exists today. This strikingly beautiful film tells the true story of William Wilberforce (played with a graceful dignity by Ioan Gruffudd), who, after a struggle that took half his life, led the movement to abolish slavery in England, and stirred the same sentiments that led to America's Civil War.
It's difficult to tell a story about a long, difficult struggle without losing the allegiance of the audience, especially when the topic is politics.
Steven Knight's script helps by including a love story, colorful supporting characters and strong religious undertones (with a brilliant performance by Albert Finney playing the slave-trader turned hymn writer John Newton), and Michael Apted's socially conscious style keeps this film from becoming "Mr. Wilberforce Goes to London" by continually reminding us of the brutality of the slave trade upon which Empire is always built.
The final shot of the film (pre credits) is a freeze frame of Ioan Gruffudd's face as he has finally won, perhaps a nod to transcendental style, where the main character, after great spiritual suffering, is granted an epiphany or beatification, becoming a religious icon for us to meditate upon and, through which, we can glimpse God.
It's difficult to tell a story about a long, difficult struggle without losing the allegiance of the audience, especially when the topic is politics.
Steven Knight's script helps by including a love story, colorful supporting characters and strong religious undertones (with a brilliant performance by Albert Finney playing the slave-trader turned hymn writer John Newton), and Michael Apted's socially conscious style keeps this film from becoming "Mr. Wilberforce Goes to London" by continually reminding us of the brutality of the slave trade upon which Empire is always built.
The final shot of the film (pre credits) is a freeze frame of Ioan Gruffudd's face as he has finally won, perhaps a nod to transcendental style, where the main character, after great spiritual suffering, is granted an epiphany or beatification, becoming a religious icon for us to meditate upon and, through which, we can glimpse God.