This lively little biopic based on the life of anti-slavery pioneer and RSPCA founder William Wilberforce comes to us from Walden Media, the family-friendly corporation owned by Philip Anschutz, an oil magnate and Christian philanthropist. But don’t let that put you off. Commissioned to mark the 200th anniversary of the date the British government voted to ban the slave trade, Amazing Grace – the ‘story behind the song’ – is primarily, a compelling parliamentary drama. Wilberforce, here invested with the warmth and charm of Ioan Gruffudd, is depicted as a right-on fanatic tirelessly seeking to abolish slavery and improve the lot of mankind. Along the way he shares a touching friendship with Pitt the Younger (the excellent Cumberbatch), marries the comely Romola Garai and consults his mentor, John Newton (Finney), the slave trader-turned-evangelical Christian who penned the titular spiritual. The central performances are splendid, the pet hare is a nice touch and there’s pleasing support from Ciarán Hinds and Michael Gambon as Westminster patricians. Still, Michael Apted’s film feels like only half the story. We are told but never shown the horrors of slavery. And Wilberforce’s faults are glossed over, making him seem more like a Michael Landon character than a real guy.
Oddly plotted and encumbered by wholly unnecessary flashbacks, the film assumes an awkward rhythm. Shame, for such clumsiness detracts from an otherwise engrossing snapshot of the British Empire just before the sun starting setting all over.