Slavery, as we learned about it from history classes, is long over. Now, some might want to argue, and I’ve read this, that it continues to this day by the way and conditions that a number of illegal immigrants are treated. This isn’t even in the same league since those in this country illegally weren’t forcibly brought here, they are paid, and they have the option to leave at any point, and should, but this isn’t actually the place for that type of political discussion, but I think you see the point. While we learned about slavery in the United States most of us never learned much, if anything, about slavery in other countries and may not have even knew that it existed.

Amazing Grace follows the life of William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) who, despite the common attitude of the time, was heavily against slavery in the United Kingdom, but the slave trade extended well beyond that and it was something that he was intent on ending. The film follows Wilberforce’s efforts, but it doesn’t begin towards the end of his efforts but instead twenty or so years of his life. This wouldn’t be an easy thing to do however as we find that although he was a member of Parliament, there were those who were insistent that the economy and longevity of England relied heavily on the use of slavery. Banastre Tarleton (Ciarán Hinds) and the Duke of Clarence (Toby Jones) we see would go to nearly any lengths to ensure that slavery continued as it always had.

There are aspects of Amazing Grace that are quite informative but it’s also slow moving at times and while it runs under two hours, it can feel quite a bit longer. There are some things though, like the often seen Parliament meetings where insults fly about fluidly, which are enjoyable to watch. However, this is much like many, many other period piece dramas tends to be extremely dialog heavy. There’s nothing wrong with this, and that really is the key focus of the film as it should be, but it tends to drag the movie down to an even slower pace at times which you can easily lose interest in, at least I did.

Amazing Grace also tends to go a bit deeper than just slavery and deals with Wilberforce and his efforts in Parliament. Things would get so bad that he would eventually consider leaving politics for good, but it would be thanks to some good moral support that he would stick with is plans and continue working towards the end that he had always envisioned. Wilberforce also finds some fantastic assistance from Olaudah Equiano (Youssou N'Dour), a former slave who is able to give him more information and some gritty details on the slave trade itself.

The film has a very solid cast which really makes it a bit easier to watch. Again, I have to point out that overall, Amazing Grace isn’t a movie that is horrible, but it’s just not necessarily the type of movie that I find as engaging as others might. I can appreciate the great costuming and the efforts that have been taken to recreate England circa the era that it is set in, but these things along didn’t help to make Amazing Grace the brand of cinema that lured me in and kept me interested. With the political and aspects added in, it’s almost like watching a blend of CSPAN and TBN with period piece costuming.

The DVD does include a number of informative pieces in the additional features. Amazing Grace has commentary with Ioan Gruffudd and director Michael Apted, but I did find it to be a bit dry, though there is some good bits of history here. How Sweet the Sound: The Story of Amazing Grace is the essential making of piece, though it really focuses more on the actors thought on the movie and the production and the true history isn’t touched on as much as it could have been, though it is still brought up. You will find more relevant material with the Finding Freedom” - A Tour of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center which actually looks at modern day slavery because it does still exist though it’s not addressed nearly as much as you might think. There is also a Interactive Discussion Tools and Study Guides that will prove useful and a music video.

Amazing Grace focuses on a piece of history that most of us in the United States are very unaware of but like many period piece dramas it is often slow moving and can be rather tedious to watch. I know there are some that will find the film to be more than enjoyable but unfortunately, Amazing Grace didn’t do quite enough to have me really engrossed and gripped by story as much as it could have.
 

-mike-