British director Amma Asante’s
political period drama A United Kingdom bears
all the high watermarks of Oscar caliber cinema, boasting great performances,
sumptuous cinematography and a captivating true story but unfortunately is
marred by an average screenplay by Guy Hibbert and arrives on the heels of the
similarly themed Jeff Nichols film Loving. Well intentioned and earnest in conviction
yet a tad perfunctory in terms of editing and delivery, there’s a great story
being told in the most by the numbers fashion that it tends to undercut the
film’s many virtues. Not since William
Friedkin’s Rules of Engagement has an
important nonfiction story come across as so underwhelming with many obvious
trims to what were presumably more fleshed out exchanges between the characters
hurting the film instead of helping it.
Set in 1948 London, England
before moving over to apartheid stricken South Africa, it tells the true story
of the controversial romance and marriage between Sir Seretse Khama (David
Oyelowo from Selma) who is on the cusp of becoming the first president of Botswana and
Ruth Williams Khama (Rosamund Pike) as his queen. Recounting the entanglements encountered by
the interracial couple as their mutual families and especially the British and
South African governments do everything they can to split them apart including
but not limited to forced exile by both governments.
This is the stuff great
civil rights dramas are made of, recounting an important chapter in world
history and race relations while simultaneously functioning as a comment on our
own current political climate. In an
effort towards authentically recreating the dilemma, many of the real figures
involved including the real house Ruth and Seretse lived in and real extras
from the region were utilized, all gorgeously lensed by The Descent cinematographer Sam McCurdy. There’s also some occasional room for
spontaneity involving the extras, including one moment where a song is sung to
Ruth that turned out to be unplanned.
Performances are of course
splendid, reuniting Jack Reacher actors
Oyelowo and Pike who many to wrench many emotions from the viewer with their
heartfelt and tear streaked soliloquys regarding the opportunistic governments
trying to use their controversial marriage for their own mercurial political
ends. Oyelowo also looks remarkably like
the real Seretse, although I find it a bit curious the actress who plays Ruth’s
sister Muriel (Laura Carmichael from Downton
Abbey) looks uncannily like the real Ruth.
Obviously Carmichael would have been a more authentic casting choice,
but you know how studios with star power in mind are. Jack Davenport as the British government rep
for South Africa provides a dependable adversary to Oyelowo and Pike’s uphill
battle and South African actor Vusi Kunene imbues Seretse’s disgruntled and
proud uncle Tshekedi with frustration and an odd touch of sympathy.
Overall A United Kingdom is a good movie but I found myself increasingly
frustrated by Jonathan Amos’ editing which tightens the belt around moments
that should have been allowed more wiggle room.
There’s a rhythm to many scenes where a character says one line before
making the abrupt transition to another time and place, jumping around a lot
without leaving enough time for many of the film’s events to register or
resonate. There’s a genuinely sincere
production at work here that keeps getting sandbagged by the bullet point
editing approach, which is a shame as it weighs down on the film’s potential
dramatic power.
Though different subjects and places completely, my friendly recommendation between this and Jeff Nichols’ Loving would be to go for Nichols’ film first. Both address the same issues of prejudice, ruthless legal battles and at the epicenter a love that transcends ethnic differences but something about Nichols’ film rang truer for not whittling the footage down to the bare essentials. Amma Asante’s a director to watch for, clearly, and A United Kingdom is a relevant film to our times people should see. I just wish the editor didn’t cut it together to fit into the eventual syndicated television time slot.
Score:
- Andrew Kotwicki