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Review: The Birth Of A Nation

The Birth Of A Nation Plot Summary:

The Birth Of A Nation Plot Summary:

Based on the true story of Nat Turner (Nate Parker), the slave who became a preacher, and led a rebellion that inspired a legacy.

The first half of this film is merely below average. On the nose dialogue. Flat characters. There’s not much here. It’s almost as if director Nate Parker is going through a checklist of tropes within this genre. We’ve seen these a lot, and recently. Here’s the problem – you need to write actual characters. Nat Turner doesn’t get interesting until far too late. Nothing grabs me about this guy.

As far as the acting goes, Nate Parker is serviceable. He can carry a movie. There just isn’t much to carry. His most intriguing attribute is that he’s a preacher with pure devotion to his craft. As he goes from farm to farm and watches his fellow slaves get treated brutally, he struggles to do his job. The movie needed more of that. But much like 12 Years a Slave, it’s more focused on shock imagery – not the character. When it’s time for Nat to lead the rebellion and give those stirring speeches, it’s fine, but the writing is about as electrifying as a dead battery.

While underwritten, Turner is still the best part of the film. There is absolutely no other noteworthy supporting character whatsoever. Armie Hammer gives a solid performance as Turner’s master, but that’s it. Turner’s wife? Generic. Turner’s mom? Forgettable. Turner’s friend? Cliché. I don’t know how much I can repeat the same problem. It’s visuals over character. That’s not how a good movie works. You need characters. Let’s look at a movie like Black Swan. It’s extraordinarily visual. The difference is Darren Aronofsky creates layered characters to go along with it. That’s what endears you to their story. Not this.

Let’s get to those shocking images. There’s a whipping scene, hangings and plenty of other terrible sights to make you squirm. Even though 12 Years a Slave was uneven, it at least delivered power behind those uncomfortable moments. This just pushes them through. There isn’t much effort or build up to these moments. Even the actual rebellion seemed rushed and glossed over.

This film certainly has its moments. The last ninety seconds is very well directed. I’ll give Nate Parker that.  We’ve reached a point where directors need to do something a little different with this topic on film. Even a movie like Django Unchained, which is outlandish, manages to make a different kind of film in this genre, but it still has an emotional resonance. Despite all its cartoonish elements, it’s about the characters.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10 (Passable Entertainment)

Daniel Cohen
Daniel Cohen
Daniel Cohen likes movies and bagels, and that’s pretty much it. Aside from writing Box Office predictions, Daniel hosts the monthly Batman by the Numbers Podcast on the Breakcast feed. Speaking of Batman, If Daniel was sprayed by Scarecrow's fear toxin, it would be watching Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on a non-stop loop.
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