DVD Review September 2007

Amazing Grace: Director: Michael Apted

Starring: Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, Ioan Gruffudd, Benedict Cumberbatch. Details: 1l8mins (PG).

Amazing Grace is the story of idealistic abolitionist William Wilberforce (Gruffudd), a man who strove to end slavery in 18th century England. Backed by the ambitious would-be Prime Minister Pitt The Younger (Cumberbatch), Wilberforce’s forthright damnation of the slave trade creates ructions in the Commons; but with the help of reformed slave boat captain-turned-monk John Newton (Finney), Wilberforce gathers around him a team of good men – including Rufus Sewell’s Thomas Clarkson and Stephen Campbell Moore’s James Stephens. However, he comes up against strong parliamentary support for slavery – in the guise of MP5 Ciaran Hinds and Toby Jones – men whose livelihood has been built on the trade.

The message is loud and clear throughout Amazing Grace, but it’s the performances that hook you. Gruffudd and Cumberbatch fully realise their roles and actually look like real friends as their back-and-forth really sparkles, while Hinds and Jones, although flawless, are under-used.

It’s left to Finney, who, while only on screen for a short period, really takes his role by the scruff of the neck and diminishes everyone in sight. The dialogue feels like it was written by two different writers – one a seasoned pro, the other a naive amateur – as the script, from the hand of Dirty Pretty Things scribe Steven Wright, veers from the clever-clever quips to clanging exposition.