The Birth of a Nation
The Birth of a Nationis a work of passion-fueled filmmaking and messy storytelling that struggles to make the grand statement it aims for.
bear into bondage , Nat Turner spend his puerility growing up on a grove in Southampton County , Virgina , in the early 19th hundred . When the wife of Nat ’s owner , Elizabeth Turner ( Penelope Ann Miller ) , see that Nat can read , she help him to better his literacy ; have Nat read The Bible , in time allowing him to advocate to his fellow slaves geezerhood later when he has become a produce humanity ( Nate Parker ) . When Elizabeth ’s Word Samuel Turner ( Armie Hammer ) , who take over the fellowship plantation after his father ’s death , falls on hard time financially , he finish up " contribute " Nat to other plantation owners so that Nat can preach to and calm their rumbustious slaves - for a fee , of course .
However , the more atrocity that Nat witnesses his fellow hard worker suffer at the manus of those superior whom he is instructing them to obey ( based on scriptural rule ) , the more his sense of right and wrong grows ill at ease and urges him to fight back against his slave master , rather than submit to them . At the same time , Nat and those around him carry on to suffer in person at the hands of their owners - inspiring Nat to do more than only speak out against the damage that he check take place around ( and to ) him .
A breakout hit at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival ( where it won both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize),The birthing of a Nationis an fiery yet clunky endeavor to adapt the real - life actions of slave - turned uprising drawing card Nat Turner into a body of work of high artistry cinema . The history of Nat Turner is a compelling one with modern relevance , butThe Birth of a Nationstruggles to craft an equally piquant or efficacious narrative from that story . Nevertheless , the film has its long suit in addition to its flaws - and both largely staunch from the efforts of its screenwriter , principal and steersman , Nate Parker , take in his lineament - duration directorial debut here .
The Birth of a Nationis , at its bosom , a hero ’s journey tale about Nat Turner - one that clamber to detect its focus in part because the film ’s version of Nat Turner is n’t that well - developed . Nat ’s spiritual and religious beliefs , as well as the intelligence he gains from years of discipline and read The Bible , are what fuel his action both before and after he becomes a subversive ; yetThe Birth of a Nationneither amply explores the contradictory nature of his beliefs , nor cohesively illustrates how they develop over the line of its story . As such , when Natdoesreach his breaking point ( after witnessing so many real - life horrors ) it ’s not as dramatically impactful as intend . Similarly , Parker makes the common first - time director mistake of incorporating too many approximation into the film , in the process over - simplify a figure of them while at the same time shinny to mould them into exact theme . The net shot inThe birthing of a Nationdoes deliver a basic , yet all the same powerful substance - but it would have come in across much secure had the film mould a clear imagination of Nat Turner and his news report before then .
Although Parker as a manager is guilty of integrate stylistic flourishes ( such as heavy - handed visual metaphors ) that call tending to themselves more than enhance the story being told , The parturition of a Nationis quite the visually pleasing cinema on the whole . The cinematography by Elliot Davis ( Twilight , The Iron Lady ) paints much of the proceeding in rich shadowiness of black and dark blueness ; at the same clock time , relying heavily on the utilisation of striking closeups and motif ( like the recurring shots of cotton fields ) to make its sentiency of place and ambiance . WhileThe Birth of a Nationdoesn’t shy away from disturbing imagery depicting violences against slave either , there are times when the vivid visuals have more of a shock economic value issue than an emotionally impactful one . Similar to how its narrative try to wrestle with too many big idea , The Birth of a Carry Amelia Moore Nation ’s efforts to make powerful images are driven more by feeling than heedful consideration about their implications .
Nate Parker ’s carrying out as Nat Turner is also strongest when Parker is express the eccentric ’s emotions on the surface , rather than during the sequence where Nat is being more self-examining . While Nat Turner might have benefited from being presented as a more complex protagonist , The Birth of a Nationpaints the fibre of Elizabeth Turner and Samuel Turner in richer shade of grey by compare . There is some uneven characterization when it amount to Samuel in peculiar , but these two hard worker owners salutary illustrate the complicated nature of citizenry who treat their slaves well - without everreallyseeing them as equals - thanks in part to Penelope Ann Miller ( The Artist ) and Armie Hammer ’s ( The Social internet ) various performance .
Unfortunately , other defend players like Colman Domingo ( Fear the Walking Dead ) as Nat ’s fellow slave Hark only come into play to move the plot of ground along , more than anything else . Similarly , Nat ’s married woman Cherry ( as run byHow to Get forth With Murder ’s Aja Naomi King ) is grow only enough so that when bad thing happen to her , it do to fire Nat ’s arc more than hers . The Birth of a Nationalso pits Nat and his fellow slave against a visual modality of the antebellum South that is dwell in the first place by hokey villains , play by go - to unfit guy rope thespian like Jackie Earle Haley ( Watchmen ) and Mark Boone Junior ( Sons of Anarchy ) . This , in turn , makes the film more effective as a melodrama , but less so as the thoughtful drama that it seemingly need to be .
For all the controversy that now surroundsThe nativity of a Nationdue to Nate Parker ’s personal life sentence , the actual film is more a halfway - of - the - route effort by a first - meter director - one who is still pretty rough around their edges , but does show the potential to become a better film producer . The parturition of a Nationis a piece of work of love - fueled filmmaking and messy storytelling that struggles to make the grand statement it aims for . Some moviegoers will appreciate that Nat Turner ’s story is brought to lifespan by a storyteller who is clearly interested in doing rightfield by their real - living subject - and may find themselves more forgiving of the film ’s defect for related to cause . Others moviegoers might also appreciate how gamey the cinema set its ken , even if they too finger the ending result is more of a wannabe - chef-d’oeuvre than a firm ground ball ( much less a hit out of the ballpark ) .
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The Birth of a Nationis now playing in U.S. theaters . It is 120 minutes long and is Rated roentgen for disturbing crimson subject , and some brief nudity .
Arrmie Hammer and Nate Parker in The Birth of a Nation
Nate Parker and Aja Naomi King in The Birth of a Nation
