I can't agree with the many commentators who found this a great movie. It isn't.
I think many viewers confuse Wilberforce the man with the movie.
I have nothing but admiration for Wilberforce, a man with a powerful moral vision and great determination, who spent 15 years persuading his fellow parliamentarians to do the right thing and abolish the slave trade.
The movie does not measure up to the man.
The movie is nothing but a collection of pretty period scenes and idiosyncratic actions. None of the characters are developed in any depth. There is not a strong story line, moving inexorably from the beginning to the end of the sage. The story, such as it is, hops confusingly back and forth in time, to no particular purpose. There are scatterings of little vignettes, which add nothing. The script is dreadful.
The acting is fine, if frequently overdone. I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of Pitt the Younger.
The costuming, art direction and photography are fine, but do not redeem the film.
Too bad. Wilberforce deserves better.
I think many viewers confuse Wilberforce the man with the movie.
I have nothing but admiration for Wilberforce, a man with a powerful moral vision and great determination, who spent 15 years persuading his fellow parliamentarians to do the right thing and abolish the slave trade.
The movie does not measure up to the man.
The movie is nothing but a collection of pretty period scenes and idiosyncratic actions. None of the characters are developed in any depth. There is not a strong story line, moving inexorably from the beginning to the end of the sage. The story, such as it is, hops confusingly back and forth in time, to no particular purpose. There are scatterings of little vignettes, which add nothing. The script is dreadful.
The acting is fine, if frequently overdone. I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of Pitt the Younger.
The costuming, art direction and photography are fine, but do not redeem the film.
Too bad. Wilberforce deserves better.