Amazing Grace: Drama. Starring Ioan Gruffudd, Albert Finney, Benedict Cumberbatch and Romola Garai. Directed by Michael Apted. (PG. 110 minutes. At Bay Area theaters. For complete movie listings and show times, and to buy tickets for select theaters, go to sfgate.com/movies.)
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The great gospel hymn "Amazing Grace" was written by a British slave trader in repentance for his sins. The film of the same name touches on that story and how it intersects with the career of William Wilberforce, the passionate British crusader whose efforts led to the abolition of the slave trade in the 19th century. It's a detailed, affecting biography of one of the great souls who moved humanity forward.
When a movie resurrects a moment from history, with the confident hope, as always, that audiences will respond, the question that comes to mind is "Why?" That is, what is it about this story in particular that's supposed to connect with modern viewers? In this case, it may not be anything obvious or specific. Yet there's something about Wilberforce's frustration at the organized indifference he faces (the conjoining of the slave trade and government) and something about the physical and emotional toll taken on Wilberforce's health and spirit that make the story ring true and feel significant. Anyone who has ever felt morally right and completely in the minority will have a point of entry into this movie.
It begins in the middle and is told in two directions, moving forward and flashing back, a strategy that produces dramatic dividends in that it finds Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) at his lowest ebb. Once a young dynamo, he has lost his energy and confidence. He's feeling middle-aged and suffering from bouts of colitis. Yet, thankfully, he's still in good enough shape for friends to introduce him to a young, pretty admirer, Barbara (Romola Garai). When the two finally get a chance to talk, it's as though they've just met through one of those modern-day liberal dating services. They agree about everything -- about the slave trade, abolition and animal rights.
Wilberforce led a life of drama and commitment, and "Amazing Grace" sticks close to the historical record: The film shows him experiencing, in his late 20s, a sudden religious revelation, and for a time he considers leaving politics. But he's encouraged by a number of people -- including John Newton (Albert Finney), the author of "Amazing Grace" -- that if he wants to do God's work, politics is exactly what he should be pursuing.
This decision, to put his faith to work in the public sphere, forms the practical basis for his life. (Wilberforce went on to write a book, still in print, called "A Practical Guide to Christianity.") It gives him the drive and conviction that his more cynical colleagues lack, but it also makes it easier for them to write him off as a crank. Gruffudd conveys well the nature of Wilberforce's frustration. He is 50 years ahead of his time, seeing what is obviously wrong and arguing for what's right, while others are stuck in the dark.
His friendship with William Pitt the Younger -- the youngest prime minister in British history -- is his most important alliance, and to a degree that's both unexpected and welcome, this story of a relentless idealist is grounded in the nitty-gritty of hard-nosed politics. As Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch strikes a nice note with regard to Wilberforce, sometimes envying his conviction, sometimes scorning his naivete. He's a proud man who nonetheless can't help but recognize that Wilberforce -- though his inferior in every other way -- is his moral superior.
All the bases are covered, practical and spiritual. Wilberforce's great rapport with the woman who becomes his wife suggests a rich private life, and the movie never lets the audience forget the nature of the evil that Wilberforce wants to eradicate. The scenes with Finney, as the former slave trader, give details about the slave trade, and the horrors that took place on the slave ships are beyond description. Even those who think they know all about it will be moved, and not just moved -- angered. How could a nation that aspired to civilization, that by 1800 had given the world the Magna Carta and the Glorious Revolution, and Shakespeare, Milton and Wordsworth, descend into such heartless barbarity? Wilberforce was wondering that, too, and in "Amazing Grace" we're right there with him
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