They Were Blind, but Then They Saw: A Movie Review of Michael Apted's "Amazing Grace"

In America, we all know about the fight against slavery in the 1860's, but do you know much about the fight against it in England, during the late 18th century? The anti-slavery campaign was largely led by William Wilberforce, a godly and bold politician.
Amazing Grace did fairly well in the box office and won the 2008 Christopher Award and Best Spiritual Film. The movie stars Ioan Gruffudd as William Wilberforce, Romola Garai as Barbara Spooner Wilberforce, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Prime Minister William Pitt.

SUMMARY

   The film opens in 1797 with William, who is severely ill, taking a holiday with his cousin and wife. Although William and a Miss Barbara Spooner are both annoyed at attempts to put the two of them in a romance, William begins to convey the story of his battle against slavery.

   Fifteen years earlier, William is a rather young member of Parliament. He considers leaving politics for theology, but his friend William Pitt (along with some anti-slavery activists) implores him to stay in politics. He visits the aging John Newton, ex-slave ship captain and current pastor, who tells William he should fight against slavery.

   Years and years of disappointing attempts and failures follow. William becomes frustrated and tired with the political battles. He soon becomes quite ill, and the story comes back to 1797, with him and Barbara. It is she who tells him that he must continue battling slavery, and the two are married shortly afterward. The two have children, and William is given hope.

   William and his political allies find a backdoor way of weakening the slave trade. Twenty years after beginning his campaign, William Wilberforce's bill of anti-slavery is passed in 1807.

CONTENT

   I would not say that the content in Amazing Grace should give it a PG-13 rating, but the content is definitely not for a younger audience. There are references to violence and cruelty to human beings, as well as one scene where Wilberforce dreams of young African boys being burned. If the length of the film does not get to younger children first, then the violence in this matter might frighten them.

   There is not any bad sexual content. I don't even think there is but one kiss between husband and wife. I do recall one brief mention of adultery but nothing else.

   For all the good in this movie, there was some inappropriate uses of language, including a**, h***, and God's name. I wondered why they would include this in an otherwise clean movie.

   Amazing Grace is an inspirational and moving story about the evils of slavery and the political life of William Wilberforce. The acting by Gruffudd and Cumberbath, I thought, was especially wonderful. Apart from some violent descriptions and an occasional swear word, this is a clean family film that many will likely enjoy.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Length: 118 minutes

Rating: PG

Director: Michael Apted

Producers: Terrence Malick, Patricia Heaton, David Hunt, Edward R. Pressman, Ken Wales 

Music: David Arnold

Year of release: 2006

Primary audience: Pre-teens, teens, adults

For an interesting interview with director Michael Apted, visit this link at Christian Answers: Spotlight, titled Faith, Politics, and Moviemaking: http://christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2007/amazinggrace2007-interview.html