Sunday, December 2, 2007

Wilberforce of Nature


If I saw Amazing Gracewhen I was between 13 and 15 years old, it could have been a favorite of mine. Historical, earnest, and socially conscious to the nth degree, Wilburforce's principled sensitivity would have resonated like a new Beatles record with me.

Will Wilberforce sounds like a name for 1950s TV wrestler, but he turns out to be an 18th Century abolitionist whose major conflicts in the film are whether or not he can get he can get anti-slavery bill through Parliament before his colitis and a kind of traumatric stress related to dealing with this issue for too many years gets to him first. Michael Apted, a hero of mine forever for the 7 Up series, but his features are a mixed bag, still he has left a well crafted body of work (Coal Miner's Daughter, Thunderheart, Nell, a James Bond flim) to at least check in with him here.

This film provides a service then for 7th through 9th graders who can still tolerate a screen hero who an artist,activist, and golden child of god without cynicism. And no matter And why not? Maybe it will help provide some folks with the opportunity to have more of an Obama-like and less of a Rudy Von Bush one.

So what about the rest of us? It all depends on your weakness or tolerance of historical liberal cheese platters. I try to be strong and walk away, but get hoovered into it anyway. I guess I stil have my adolescent who still is impacted by getting much Crosby, Stills, and Nash before the Young kicked in fully. You know, Graham Nash catterwalling about if you believe in justice and going to Chicago and all that. Otherwise, it is easy to get cynical and impatient with this one, partly because it feels like a noble movement instead of an entertainment. Evidence this with the way the official movie website pushes related products or the film's extras that include a tour by abolitionist 15 year old Zach Hunter More evidence of my theory of the film's target and best demographic audience, intentional or not.
posted by well-executed buffet at 11:27 AM
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