Amazing Grace...

[fajrdrako]

I went tonight to see Amazing Grace, a biographical movie about William Wilberforce, played by Ioan Gruffudd. I went with auriaephiala, and a friend of commodorified I hadn't met before, audrawilliams. When the movie ended, two women sitting further long in our row at the theatre came over to us and said, "You certainly seemed to be having a good time - we really enjoyed the way you were laughing." You wouldn't expect a movie about slavery to be funny, and it certainly wasn't a comedy, but it was witty and clever and there were many funny moments. Was Wilberforce really as amusing and skilled a speaker as the movie portrayed? I'm glad we weren't disturbing the women - we had a chat about how wonderful Ioan Gruffudd was as Horatio Hornblower.

He was quite wonderful in this, too. He managed to make a devoutly and devotedly Christian character seem attractive to me. Well done, Ioan, and hats off to the scriptwriter for that too. Steven Knight.

I happen to love biographies of people in the 18th century, though I haven't read many of them, and sometimes it was a mental scramble to remember what (if anything) I knew of these men and what their names were and who was who. I knew William Wilberforce was a British politican largely responsible for the abolition of slavery. I knew much more about Pitt, and relatively little about the rest.

It was a thrill to see Rufus Sewell playing a role that wasn't villainous - he was the principled radical Thomas Clarkson. I loved several of the characters: Pitt the Younger was played by Benedict Cumberbatch, and looked as if he'd stepped out of the history books. Albert Finney was stunning as John Newton, a guilt-driven former captain of a slave ship and author of the hymn "Amazing Grace". Michael Gambon was amazing as Lord Charles Fox. Ciaran Hinds really didn't have much to do as the despicable Lord Tarleton, but he had some wonderful moments. Youssou N'Dour played a fascination historical character I don't remember having heard about before, Olaudah Equiano. My knowledge of the 18th century is spotty and my knowledge of the slave trade practically nil.

I found myself with various questions - Pitt's age at his death (he was 46), whether his friends really called him "Billy", and what the actual details were of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which was essentially the crowning achievement of Wilberforce's life.

It was a lovely glimpse too of the various political stripes of the 18th century - the republicans and socialists (if I may be allowed an anachronistic word), the radicals, the idealists, the conservatives (and the Conservatives), the religious and the idealists, the aristocrats and the politicians and the servants. One of the most endearing characters was Wilberforce's butler, Richard, with whom he had a warm friendship.