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= Amazing_Grace_(2006_film) =
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Introduction
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'Amazing Grace' is a 2006 biographical drama film directed by Michael
Apted, about the abolitionist campaign against the slave trade in the
British Empire, led by William Wilberforce, who was responsible for
steering anti-slave trade legislation through the British parliament.
The title is a reference to the 1772 hymn "Amazing Grace". The film
also recounts the experiences of John Newton as a captain of slave
ships and subsequent Christian conversion, which inspired his writing
of the poem later used in the hymn. Newton is portrayed as a major
influence on Wilberforce and the abolition movement.
The film premièred on 16 September 2006 at the Toronto International
Film Festival, followed by showings at the Heartland Film Festival,
the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and the European Film
Market, before opening in wide US release on 23 February 2007, which
coincided with the 200th anniversary of the date the British
parliament voted to ban the slave trade.
Plot
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In 1797, William Wilberforce is severely ill and taking a recuperative
holiday in Bath, Somerset, with his cousin, Henry Thornton. It is here
that Wilberforce is introduced to his future wife, Barbara Spooner.
Although he initially resists any romantic overtures, she convinces
him to relate the story of his career.
The story flashes back 15 years to 1782, and Wilberforce recounts the
events that led him to where he is now. Beginning as a young,
ambitious, and popular Member of Parliament (MP), he experiences a
religious enlightenment and aligns himself with the evangelical wing
of the Church of England. Wilberforce contemplates leaving politics to
study theology, but is persuaded by his friends William Pitt, Thomas
Clarkson, Hannah More, and Olaudah Equiano that he will be more
effective doing the work of God by taking on the unpopular and
dangerous issue of the abolition of the British slave trade. His
conviction in the cause deepens following a meeting with his former
mentor John Newton (introduced mopping a church floor dressed in
sackcloth) who is said to live "in the company of 20,000 ghosts…
slaves". As a former slave ship captain turned Christian, he deeply
regrets his past life and the effects on his fellow man. Newton urges
Wilberforce to take up the cause.
Pitt becomes Prime Minister and Wilberforce becomes a key supporter
and confidant. Pitt gives Wilberforce the opportunity to present a
bill before the house outlawing the slave trade. Wilberforce's
passionate campaigning leads him to become highly unpopular in the
House of Commons. He is opposed by a coalition of MPs and peers
representing vested interests of the slave trade in London, Bristol,
Glasgow, and Liverpool led by Banastre Tarleton and the Duke of
Clarence. Despite popular support and the assistance of an unlikely
ally in the form of Charles James Fox, Wilberforce's bill to abolish
the slave trade goes down to defeat. Afterward, the film portrays Pitt
as one of his few friends and allies remaining in Parliament, however
even their relationship becomes strained. Pitt, now facing the
stresses of leading a shaky coalition during the French Revolutionary
Wars, tells Wilberforce that his cause must now wait for a more stable
political climate.
Wilberforce keeps up the fight but after years of failure he is left
exhausted and frustrated that he was unable to change anything in the
government. Believing his life's work has been in vain, he becomes
physically ill, suffering from chronic colitis which causes him to
become addicted to laudanum prescribed for the crippling pain, which
brings the story back up to 1797. Having virtually given up hope,
Wilberforce considers leaving politics forever. Barbara convinces him
to keep fighting because there is no other person who is willing or
able to do so. A few days afterward, William Wilberforce and Barbara
marry. Several years pass with no further success. Wilberforce's wife
and new children provide him with the support and strength needed to
carry on the fight.
Finally, with a renewed hope for success Wilberforce devises a
backdoor method of slowly weakening the slave trade through seemingly
innocuous legislation. Aided by Thornton, Clarkson, and new ally James
Stephen and cheered on by the now terminally ill Pitt, he reintroduces
his bill to abolish the slave trade. In time, after the 20-year
campaign and many attempts to bring legislation forward, he is
eventually responsible for a bill being passed through Parliament in
1807, which abolishes the slave trade in the British Empire forever.
Production
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The film was shot primarily in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. Baker's
Quay, which forms part of the Parliament 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', 'Johanna Lucretia' and 'Phoenix'. During January
2006, the scenes from the Houses of Parliament were shot at the 1743
Church within Chatham Historic Dockyard. The wedding scene was filmed
at St Mary’s Church, Garsington in Oxfordshire.
A number of outside scenes were shot at the former Greenwich Hospital,
now part of the University of Greenwich, and around Salisbury,
Wiltshire.
The Executive Producer was Jeanney Kim, with Mark Cooper as
co-producer. Producers on the film were Terrence Malick ('The Thin Red
Line') and Ed Pressman under their Sunflower Productions banner,
Patricia Heaton and David Hunt for FourBoys Films, and Ken Wales.
Music
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* 'Amazing Grace' (soundtrack)
* 'Amazing Grace' (score)
The soundtrack of Christian music included the title song "Amazing
Grace (My Chains Are Gone)" by Chris Tomlin. The score was named
Instrumental Album of the Year at the Dove Awards of 2008.
Box office
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'Amazing Grace' brought in a little over $4 million at the US box
office over its opening weekend of 23-25 February 2007, making it the
10th-highest-grossing film for the weekend, behind such new releases
as 'The Astronaut Farmer' and 'The Number 23'. As of 26 August 2007
the film had $32,050,774.
Critical response
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'Amazing Grace' received positive reviews. Philip French described the
film as "not exactly innovative" and compared it to "earnestly worthy
prewar Warner Brothers cinebiographies". Overall he called it "a very
decent contribution to the present bicentennial celebrations of the
parliamentary bill that outlawed the slave trade in the British
empire". Wally Hammond writing for 'Time Out' singled out Benedict
Cumberbatch's performance for praise saying his performance "quietly
upstaged" the fine performance of Gruffudd. The Guardian gave it a C−
for the entertainment value and an A− for its historical accuracy.
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of
68% based on review from 123 critics, with an average rating of
6.50/10. According to the website, the film is "your quintessential
historical biopic: stately, noble, and with plenty of electrifying
performances". Metacritic gives the film a 65 out of 100, based on
reviews from 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Awards and nominations
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Year Award Category Nominated work Result
|2008 Evening Standard British Film Awards Best Screenplay
Steven Knight
|2008 London Film Critics' Circle British Breakthrough - Acting
Benedict Cumberbatch
|2008 Christopher Award Feature Film rowspan=3|'Amazing Grace'
|2008 Genesis Awards Outstanding Feature Film
|2007 Humanitas Prize Feature Film
|rowspan=2|2007 rowspan=2|Satellite Award Production Design
David Allday Matthew Gray Charles Wood
|Best Costume Design Jenny Beavan
See also
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* List of films featuring slavery
External links
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*
*
[
https://web.archive.org/web/20160310171127/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8b878802/
'Amazing Grace'] at the British Film Institute
*
*
*
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Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace_(2006_film)
