Blake Laurita
Staff Writer
Based on a true story, “The Birth of a Nation” follows Nat Turner, on his journey to becoming the catalyst and leader of the bloodiest slave revolt in the history of the United States.
“The Birth of A Nation” delivers a dynamic character development and benefits from a unique role in the movie making process and breathtaking cinematography. However, the film suffers from one dimensional characters and a lackluster ending.
The movie follows Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a well educated slave preacher, who was taught how to read as a child by Elizabeth (Penelope Ann Miller), the mother of Samuel, Turner’s owner. Turner and Samuel go across the South as Nat preaches to other slaves in an effort on their masters’ part to suppress any thoughts of disobedience or rebellion.
The film’s strongest aspect was its performance by Nate Parker who directed, starred in and wrote the screenplay to the film. He delivers a brilliant performance and saves the film from other one dimensional characters. Due to the film being based on a true story, the depiction of Nat Turner had to be perfected, and it was with the brilliant performance of Parker. This aspect immerses the audience in the horrific reality of the situation and adds another layer of realism to the film. It also makes the movie somewhat hard to watch as the violence runs rampant in the film.
Photos: The Birth of a Nation was released October 7, 2016.
However, aside from the character of Parker, the film does a poor job of casting adequate supporting characters as most end up feeling shallow and bland. Most of the supporting cast are simply plot pieces used to cheaply propel the story forward, and nothing more.
Although a real-life plot might be intriguing to some, it is vital to note that the film is not completely historically accurate. Some of the events that occur in the film were fabricated to create motivation for Nat and the rebellion. An example of this is when Turner’s wife, Cherry, is raped by a group of slave patrollers. This disturbing attack was depicted as the spark that drove Turner to launch his rebellion. However, there is no historical evidence to support this element of the film.
Another strong point of the film is its creative and original cinematography. For the majority of the movie, cinematographer Elliot Davis use a very subdued color palette. He utilizes it very well when a pop of color comes into frame such as a yellow flame or red blood, emphasizing the violence and turbulence present during that time period.
View other reviews on The Birth of a Nation on Rotten Tomatoes.
Another weak point of the movie is its anti-climatic ending. The buildup to that ending deserved a more resolute conclusion but that it did not receive. The underwhelming ending found in “The Birth of a Nation” was not a worthy conclusion and left an unsure final message to the audience.
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“The Birth of a Nation” is a powerful and telling film complemented with brilliant cinematography and an outstanding lead role but is plagued by a disappointing ending and a supporting cast that left more to be desired. Overall, the film’s bold portrayal of Nat Turner and his award winning performance overshadows the films weak points.
“The Birth of a Nation” was released Oct. 7 is rated R, and is playing in theaters across the country.
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