Nice effects though.

Great Film overall

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

I loved this movie! I am so thankful for people like William Wilberforce who see wrongs in society and do whatever it takes to right them. Talking points - How did William Wilberforce help change our world for the better? If you knew you could succeed what causes would you embrace and champion? What can you do to fight for a cause you believe in this year?Warning - Unfortunately there are some very low-cut dresses in this film. It's not a big part of the film, but it is there. If this movie just didn't have that I would have rated it a 10.

I watched the trailer for this film and was blown away by the powerful emotion and story conveyed. The problem when I watched the actual film was the lack of momentum. Instead of being swept up in a moving drama that had me glued to my seat as I expected, the flow of the story was continually interrupted by jumping back and forth between present and past. I didn't care for the way the story was laid out. There were brilliant moments of acting, there were moving moments of passion and conviction, but overall I was unimpressed. The little detours of personal life and politics detracted from the momentum rather than helping to build it.I thought it was a good film. It just wasn't the great film I'd anticipated. Definitely some fantastic actors to enjoy; Benedict Cumberbatch and Ioan Gruffudd had great chemistry and offer wonderful performances.

It's always inspiring to see or read about someone who is passionate about what they believe, and act on that passion. William Wilberforce was one of these people. He fought tirelessly for the abolition of slavery in 18th century England as well as for humane treatment of animals (which is really only mentioned in the film).Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffud) was a member of Parliament who was encouraged to take up the fight against slavery in the British Empire by William Pitt (Benedict Cumberbatch), Thomas Clarkson (Rufus Sewell), and Hannah Moore (George Glen). Since this position went against the interests of trade, Wilberforce became very unpopular very quickly.Though it's a noble fight and he is able to tell about the brutality the slaves suffer, and the poor conditions under which they live, his campaign falls on mostly deaf ears. Physically ill with what we now know as Crohn's disease, eventually he gives up hope of changing anything. But basically he just takes a break and goes back to it, stronger than ever. This is in part thanks to his wife, Barbara (Romola Garai). This time he has more allies and eventually, in 1807, he wins.This is a powerful story told with great attention to the period detail and outstanding performances, particularly by Gruffud, Cumberbatch, Michael Gambon, and Albert Finney. Everyone is excellent, including Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones, and the beautiful Garai, but Gambon and Finney to me had the showiest roles. Gruffud is awesome in the way he captures the passion that Wilberforce had, and the way he suffered physically as well as emotionally.There is some license taken in the film -- John Newton (Finney) plays an ex-slave trader who helps Wilberforce to detail the horrible treatment of slaves -- he wrote the lyrics to Amazing Grace, but the melody was not added until much later. Still, it's a very effective part of the film.Very well done and highly recommended.

This is a very powerful drama that keeps the viewer totally captivated through to the films emotional climax. The story is a fictionalised dramatisation of the career of reforming politician William Wilberforce and his intention to pass legislation in government to abolish slavery in the British Empire. He is played with a tour de force performance by Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd. Gruffudd is ably supported by an outstanding ensemble case, though particular mention has to go to actor Benedict Cumberbatch for his equally outstanding performance as fellow politician (and future prime minister) and best friend of Wilberforce William Pitt. Pitt's character is the pragmatist, and a wheeler-dealer, but Wilberforce is the more straightforward (if naive) character, who truly believes that the strength of the argument will win the day, and after some 20 years of trying, he finally achieves this. What is interesting about the film is that the main strength of the film is almost entirely down to excellent performances. British director Michael Apted is known for his films being primarily character based. While Charles Wood's production design, veteran Oscar-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan's (Gosford Park, Cranford and the King's Speech among her other credits), photographer Remi Adefarasin's and composer David Arnold's contributions are all first rate, this film is driven by Steve Knight's excellent script and outstanding acting performances of the entire cast. It is a real pleasure so see such skill from everyone in the cast, and how the actors all play off each other is really impressive. While the film is set at the turn of the 19th century, and therefore the film projects an appropriate atmosphere, the actors do play their roles in a way the feels real and totally accessible to an audience. It is known that Apted is renowned for creating a working environment that draws out good acting performances, and this is film is in the category of his best achievements in this regard, ranking alongside films such as Coal Miner's Daughter, Nell and Gorillas in the Mist. The film has no action to speak of, and Apted focuses the story on performance and dialogue rather, with mise-en-scene important but not the most important aspect of any sequence. However the film moves at a quick pace and sustains total interest throughout. Even actors in relatively smaller roles give outstanding performances, most notably Albert Finney as penitent former slaver turned monk John Newton and interest never sags. There are emotionally powerful moments, amusing and subtly comedic moments, exciting moments, sad moments, but all leading towards the films hugely emotional and enormously satisfying conclusion. The film is fairly straightforward in construction, though some of the changes of time-line are sometimes ambiguous and not easy to follow on the first viewing, but the film draws you in despite this minor gripe and will leave you touched and emotionally satisfied if you give a chance.