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Amazing Grace (2006 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Amazing Grace | |
|---|---|
 Promotional movie poster for the film |
|
| Directed by | Michael Apted |
| Written by | Steven Knight |
| Starring | Ioan Gruffudd |
| Music by | David Arnold |
| Cinematography | Remi Adefarasin |
| Editing by | Rick Shaine |
| Distributed by | IDP, Samuel Goldwyn Films |
| Release date(s) | September 16, 2006 (premiere) February 23, 2007(USA) March 23, 2007 (UK) |
| Running time | 118 minutes |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Amazing Grace is a 2006 film directed by Michael Apted about the campaign against the slave trade in 18th century Britain, led by famous abolitionist William Wilberforce, who was responsible for steering anti-slave trade legislation through the British parliament. The title is a reference to the hymn "Amazing Grace" and the film also recounts John Newton's writing of the hymn.
The tag line (in US publicity material) is "Behind the song you love is a story you will never forget."
The film starred Ioan Gruffudd as William Wilberforce, Albert Finney as John Newton, Rufus Sewell as Thomas Clarkson, Youssou N'Dour as Olaudah Equiano, Benedict Cumberbatch as Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, Romola Garai as Barbara Spooner, the woman William Wilberforce married, Nick Thomas-Webster as a Member of Parliament and Ciarán Hinds as Sir Banastre Tarleton, one of Wilberforce's chief opponents in the House of Commons.
Richard Bailey and Michael Gambon (as Lord Charles Fox) also star in the Bristol Bay Productions feature.
The film premiered at the closing of the Toronto Film Festival on September 16, 2006 and its US premiere was at the opening of the Heartland Film Festival, Indianapolis, Indiana on October 19, 2006, after which director Michael Apted participated in a question and answer session. It also was screened as the centrepiece of the annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival.[1]
The film's wider release was on February 23, 2007 through IDP and Samuel Goldwyn Films,[2] coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the date the British parliament voted to ban the slave trade.
Contents |
The film begins with Wilberforce severely ill and taking a holiday in Bath, Somerset, with his cousin, Henry Thornton. It is here that he is introduced to his future wife, Barbara Spooner. Although he at first resists, she convinces him to tell her about his life. The story flashes back 15 years to 1782, and William recounts the events that led him to where he is now. Beginning as an ambitious and popular MP, William was persuaded by his friend William Pitt, Thomas Clarkson, Hannah More and others to take on the dangerous issue of the British slave trade which led him to become highly unpopular in the House of Commons amongst the Members of Parliament representing vested interests of the trade in the cities of London, Bristol and Liverpool.
Exhausted, and frustrated that he was unable to change anything in the government, William becomes physically ill, which brings the story back to the present day. Having virtually given up hope, William considers leaving politics forever. Barbara convinces him to keep fighting because if he does not, no one else is capable of doing so. A few days afterward, William and Barbara marry; and William, with a renewed hope for success, picks up the fight where he had previously left off, aided by Thornton, Clarkson and James Stephen. In time, after many attempts to bring legislation forward over twenty years, he is eventually responsible for a bill being passed through Parliament in 1807, which abolishes the slave trade in the British empire forever.
A number of locations were used in the shooting of the film.
Kingston Upon Hull, Yorkshire.Bakers Quay, which forms part of the Gloucester docks on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, was used as a backdrop against which to recreate the atmosphere of the East India Docks in London circa 1780. Shooting took place during October 2005 and involved the tall ships, Kaskelot, Earl of Pembroke and Phoenix.[3]
A number of outside scenes were shot at the former Greenwich Hospital, now part of the University of Greenwich.
As of October 29, 2007, the website Rotten Tomatoes amassed a total of 108 reviews for the film, 71% of which were positive (or "fresh"). According to the website, the film is "your quintessential historical biopic: stately, noble, and with plenty of electrifying performances."[4]
Amazing Grace has met with criticism for portraying black people as passive and incapable of participating in their own emancipation.[5] Despite being a film about the slave trade, it featured few black characters, and did not explore slavery from a black perspective. The single reference to slave rebellions, in Haiti, credits Wilberforce with inspiration. When questioned about these issues and his casting of black actors in the film, Apted explained that he did not set out to make another film such as Amistad or Roots, but to explore the parliamentary legislative battle from the point of view of Wilberforce and other abolitionists in Britain.
The film also depicted Thomas Clarkson as having a rather minor role in the British abolition movement and not the leading role he actually had. It also confuses the distinction between the slave trade and slavery itself. The latter was not legal in Great Britain, and any slave arriving at a British port would be a free man or woman - a point clearly stated in the 1772 case of James Somersett.
Certain major and minor characters are also inaccurately portrayed; for instance, the Duke of Clarence, later King William IV, is shown not only actively opposing Wilberforce, but also attending sittings of the House of Commons, something which, as a peer of the realm, he could not do. Also, Henry and Marianne Thornton, far from introducing Wilberforce to Barbara Spooner, as depicted in the film, were less than enthusiastic about their courtship and marriage. Wilberforce himself was born in Kingston Upon Hull, and despite some of the film being shot in Hull, the film did not air in any movie cinemas in Hull, much to many people's dismay.
It was also criticised for being historically inaccurate, as during the film the characters sing the titular song, but although the words were written at that time, the popular tune was not added until years after.
According to the website Box Office Mojo, the film brought in a little over $4 million at the box office over the weekend of February 23-25, placing it as the tenth highest grossing film for the weekend, behind such new releases as The Astronaut Farmer and The Number 23.
The film has grossed $21,250,683 domestically as of June 14, 2007. Worldwide box office as of August 26, 2007 stands at $29,949,690.
- Music Inspired By the Motion Picture Amazing Grace
- Original Score from the Motion Picture Amazing Grace
- ^ Sneider, Jeff. Santa Barbara announces lineup, Variety, January 4, 2007.
- ^ Release date of Amazing Grace from BoxOfficeMojo.com
- ^ Full details of the filiming can be found at Gloucester Docks and the Sharpness Canal website - Filming "Amazing Grace" and details of the ships used at Square Sail on the Canal.
- ^ Amazing Grace (2007) at Rottentomatoes.com
- ^ CNN Coverage, March 23, 2007.
- Amazing Grace official US website
- Amazing Grace official UK website
- Amazing Grace (2006) at the Internet Movie Database
- Rotten Tomatoes Review Site
- [[1]/Amazing Grace The Times Review]
- [2]/Amazingly graceless remarks by dull critics]
- Box Office Mojo Website
- Hollywood's 'Amazing' Glaze by Charlotte Allen
- Michael Apted Loses Temper Responding to Criticism about 'Amazing Grace' on CNN