Shadows on the Wall | Emancipation

Emancipation

dir Antoine Fuqua
scr William N Collage
prd Joey McFarland, Todd Black, Will Smith, Jon Mone
with Will Smith, Ben Foster, Charmaine Bingwa, Mustafa Shakir, Gilbert Owuor, Michael Luwoye, David Denman, Paul Ben-Victor, Aaron Moten, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Grant Harvey, Steven Ogg
release US 2.Dec.22,
UK 9.Dec.22
22/US Apple 2h12

Is it streaming?

Based on a true story from an ugly chapter of US history, this drama can't help but be brutal. And director Antoine Fuqua isn't known for subtlety. Indeed, he leans heavily into the nastiness, overstating the deeply important issues that fill the narrative. While the facts of the story and bold filmmaking style lend narrative weight, it strangely tips the film in the direction of Grand Guignol horror.

In 1861, Louisiana masters refused to honour President Lincoln's edict to free their slaves. Meanwhile, slave Peter (Smith) has been ripped from his loving wife (Bingwa) and children and sent to a grim work camp, where he hears that Baton Rouge has been taken by Lincoln's army. With the option to either fight or run, Peter and three friends (Shakir, Owuor and Luwoye) make an escape, pursued through alligator-filled bayous by the ruthless tracker Jim (Foster). It's a harrowing journey, leading to an active battlefield. And Peter isn't as free as he thought he'd be.

Cinematographer Robert Richardson uses soaring camerawork in virtual monochrome, using only hints of colour while juxtaposing natural beauty with human cruelty. This is effective at evoking the haunting tone of period photographs, including the iconic image of the scarred Peter that travelled around the world and changed attitudes toward slavery. But that photo eloquently conveys oceans of meaning that are flattened by Fuqua's nuance-free approach. And while the elaborately staged war sequence in the final act offers historical context and authenticity, it's also a bit much.

Smith invests fully into the role, with telling mannerisms that fill his physicality and an intense sense of inner pain. Peter is also a warm and wise man who leaps to help any slave in need, and this journey involves several outrageous tests of survival, sustained by his determination to reunite with his family. It's not a terribly complex role, but it is compelling. And while the surrounding characters are largely one-note, they're played solidly by a gifted cast.

The hideously violent degradation is so constant that it becomes numbing to watch, perhaps undermining the desired effect. These kinds of topics require sensitivity that can drive home the issue in personal way. There's no question that slavery was and still is nightmarishly inhumane, especially this vile American version of it. And society has yet to reckon with it properly, so perhaps in-your-face movies like this are needed. But for healing to take place, artists need to more fully engage the viewer.

themes, violence, language 15.Dec.22

R E A D E R R E V I E W S

Still waiting for your comments ... don't be shy.