Amazing Grace

“Amazing Grace” is an effective historical drama about a subject that hasn’t received a lot of attention. It’s inspiring, heart-wrenching and maybe even important.

Based on a true story, the film follows the journey of William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) and his struggle to eliminate the British slave trade. Defeated in Parliament over and over, he gives up until meeting the similarly-minded Barbara Spooner (Romola Garai)

Do you ever turn on the TV and see those commercials with the starving children in a faraway land with the narration asking you to “call now and contribute, you CAN make a difference”? Those are tailor-made to make you feel bad. Now imagine those commercials but with former slavers crying their hearts out, lamenting about the horrendous debasing of the African people. Imagine the mutilations, the murders, the inhuman conditions those kidnapped people were forced to stand, the rapes at the hand of their captors and countless other nightmares for the sake of money. That's what our protagonist is exposed to when he meets John Newton (Albert Finney), the man who composed "Amazing Grace". From then on, he's compelled to act and you cheer for him.

“Amazing Grace” is about a compassionate man who firmly believes in his faith and decides to act upon it. Wilberforce frequently cares about animals, gives to charity, and winces at the very idea of slavery. If every fiber of his being wasn’t already telling him to fight the slave trade and his friend William Pitt the Younger (Benedict Cumberbatch) hadn't made it clear that political upheaval is upon the horizon, he would've become a priest. At times Wilberforce is shown as nearly saintly, but his compassion also works as a disadvantage. He is haunted by nightmares of the people he has failed by not passing the bill, falls into a depression when his efforts do not come to fruition and becomes furious with the system that is more concerned with the wages of its citizens and politicians than the right cause.

The journey towards the abolition of slavery with Wilberforce and his allies gathering of evidence, accumulating small victories along the way are what prevent this film from being a total downer that would leave you depressed and angry. Additionally, the film features many entertaining scenes of political debate. What? Oh, you don't know? In British cabinets, everyone can basically say whatever they want, but it’s “off the record” and “ignored” unless they’re standing up. You'll hear many witty remarks, colorful insults and plenty of verbal twists of the knife as these politicians trash-talk each other into submission. Also making the film digestible is the romance between Wilberforce and Barabara. The actors have great chemistry.

The one flaw with "Amazing Grace" is that because this is based on real-life events, it doesn’t really fit into a traditional three-act story. The conclusion isn’t a big climactic battle where the votes are neck-a-neck or some bad guy has a big duel with our hero, it’s an organic change in society through the distribution of evidence and a rise in awareness. It’s not really the film’s fault because you don’t want to change the facts, it’s just that the middle of the movie is where the film really shines, not the end.

Like all good stories centered around the abomination that is slavery," Amazing Grace" isn't about making anyone feel bad. It’s an underdog story where you cheer for the heroes and despise the villains without feeling any conflict whatsoever. You might even learn a historical fact or two and the leads are so likable and relatable it would have been hard not to be strongly affected. The performances are good too and as a whole, this is an easily accessible picture if you're squeamish. There's no on-screen violence or nudity and the story is sophisticated without being too complex for teenage audiences to understand. I found myself profoundly affected by "Amazing Grace" and despite the only-ok ending, I give it a high recommendation. (On Dvd, May 14, 2014)

One of the best movie I have seen in the last few years. People should be inspire by the story to pursue their dreams or battles in life.

A truely heart warming and intelligent movie. Worth seeing aleast once.

The film is about the abolition of slavery in 18th century England. That's essentially the whole plot, nothing more, nothing less. It felt quite long, and I'm glad I didn't watch it on the big screen.

This is a great historical movie. It showcases the political perspective of the debate. The abolition of slavery is still relevant today.

Every politician and political studies student should see this film. It is a film about the triumph of words over war. And how the real heros in the world are good politicians.

Excellent story ad character development. Great cinematography. Very uplifting film.

Anything self-indulgent enough to call itself Amazing Grace, when in fact the Brits finally caught on slavery was a bad thing (you don't say?!), is pretentious and vain. How typical. I'd rather see a movie about a black man who championed freedom, human dignity and respect.

I enjoyed all of the performances and having Finney and Gambon in the movie was brilliant. I appreciated the attention to period detail and was caught in the character's struggle.

An excellent story that has definite parallels today. (Replace slavery with global warming): Many of the arguements made against abolition are made against global warming (ie. Economic ruin, lack of definitive evidence), the few who see the light fight against the status quo (who recognize a situation as wrong or even bad, but do not grasp the immensity of the problem or are unwilling or too afraid to stand up which will only get worse is nothing is done)

It has been a very long time since I was at a movie where not one person got up to leave when the credits began to roll. Not only hugely entertaining it recounts a very important part of English history - the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire.

Great movie - shows the impact that one man can have when he is led by God.

Really enjoyed this movie. Sad, encouraging, and educational at the same time. Take the older members of your family!

Good movie, found it quite interesting to watch as one fought for freedom and the others for profit.

This flick is a real item to behold. It contains historical content of the struggle between the British aristocrats and the black slaves, who have their hope and future in the hands of Wm Wilberforce. Doing the right and proper thing is not mostly, popular; neither, was it in those days of the upper crust in the hierarchy of the British parlament. The guts, courage, and the knowledge of rejection flies in the face of all those who dare "buck the system". The acting is superb throughout, and the story line is great ( unusual in alot of today's movies)! Don't be mislead by the title since the movie isn't "religious" by any stretch of the imagination. The emphasis would be better placed on the "Amazing" - stay throughout the movie and catch the Credits for a little inspiration of narration. A must see to catch a bit of our North American roots, as we descend from the British here, in North America.

Best movie I have seen in a long time. Awesome performances and inspiring story.

Great story, bad acting. Doesn't have it.

Great movie - great story that needs to be told, and well acted, very interesting and moving.

Very thought provoking and based on a true story.

HISTORICALLY INACCURATE! Albert Finney as a Reverend? P-Yew, this movie was a stinker and I'm sorry I wasted my time on it. Haven't we seen this type far too many times before? Too much yakking and some reviewers called it "speechifying" but also called it DULL! So do I. A dull, boring and did I mention dull/broing movie. Half the audience was asleep, the other half walked out. I'm a sucker for punishment and stayed. Yikes!

Good film but very slow and non-action movie. What this one needed were slaves. It's basically a legislation drama, without the suffering, the blood and the gore.

Loved this movie, see people do what is right, how unusual in modern entertainment. Thanks.

WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
Click here to show this review. Amazing Grace seems like it should be a religious movie but it isn't. It's part of history about abolishing evil slavery in Britian. The acting, settings, costumes, scenery were terrific. William Willberforce, John Newton & William Pitt etc. Were up to par. It was a fantastic movie.

Best movie we have been to in long time. I would go to more if they were as uplifting and as well done as this.

Fabulous! I have seen it twice and will probably go a third time. Anyone looking to change the future should see how it was done in the past. The acting is remarkable.