Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Directed by: Justin Chadwick
Written by: William Nicholson, based on Nelson Mandela's autobiography
Starring: Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge, Riaad Moosa, Zolani Mkiva, Simo Mogwaza, Fana Mokoena, Deon Lotz, Jamie Bartlett, Lindiwe Matshikiza, Terry Pheto, Zikhona Sodlaka
Biography/Drama/History - 139 min
Written by: William Nicholson, based on Nelson Mandela's autobiography
Starring: Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge, Riaad Moosa, Zolani Mkiva, Simo Mogwaza, Fana Mokoena, Deon Lotz, Jamie Bartlett, Lindiwe Matshikiza, Terry Pheto, Zikhona Sodlaka
Biography/Drama/History - 139 min
Paraphrasing the quote shown on the screen at the end of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, it says “Nobody is born hating another person because of the color of their skin; that must be taught.” Wise words indeed. Many countries share the collective shame of racial inequalities in their pasts; the United States earning its place near the top of that list. South Africa’s apartheid system, in effect not that long ago, certainly within my living memory, remains fresh in people’s minds as does the memory of the man credited with sending it collapsing to the ground, Nelson Mandela.
I imagine adapting nearly 100 years of a man’s life into a two hour biopic to be one of the more arduous tasks for any filmmaker. What do you include, spend time on, reinforce? What must be left out? You must select, distinguish between, and weigh your themes with care. Included in Long Walk to Freedom are scenes that will educate American audiences on aspects of Mandela’s life they are unfamiliar with, the revolutionary and his personal life.
Concerning the revolutionary, there are scenes of Mandela firing a pistol, learning how to make bombs, and blowing up police stations. In grade school, Americans are taught that Nelson Mandela is one of the world’s greatest peacemakers and holds unquantifiable dignity for his struggle in prison and his fight for equal rights. The history books gloss over the methods that landed him in prison; for a time, Nelson Mandela chose the violent path to challenge an unjust and corrupt government.
Recounting his personal life, writer Justin Nicholson, working from Mandela’s autobiography, included not just the standard ‘Nelson was born here’ and ‘came of age here’ scenes, he lets us know what Mandela was also telling us, he is just a man, warts and all. There are scenes of womanizing and adultery, some neglect and slight physical abuse in his first marriage, and then the ups and downs of Nelson’s relationship with Winnie (Naomie Harris) in his later years.
One of the film’s concluding themes charts the different paths Nelson and Winnie follow upon Nelson’s release from prison. Nelson urged peace and reconciliation. He did not ask people to forget atrocities or cover up the past, but to move forward to try and create a brighter future for everyone. Winnie could not let go of the hate. American audiences, who are mostly unfamiliar with the torture and harsh punishments endured by Winnie under apartheid, may think long and hard whether they could let go of that hate were they in her position. While Winnie argues with Nelson about South Africa’s future, there remains a large amount of sympathy for her character.
Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela is almost unrecognizable in the beginning. I would not have known that was him unless I had already seen the movie poster. You can see Idris more as the film ages Nelson but his portrayal is so strong and his accent so precise, you will remember this performance for a long time to come. He does not physically resemble Nelson, but his portrayal of one of the world’s most beloved figures focuses on a more emotional and spiritual level than one tied to a physique.
Picking and choosing from the events in Mandela’s life to create a composite picture requires very tough choices and a clear vision of what you want to show the audience. Director Justin Chadwick chose to not only emphasize Nelson’s political struggles and prison experience; he chose to display Nelson the family man as well. Long Walk to Freedom starts slow and marks considerable time to reinforce the importance Nelson places on family, his wife and children. This conveys how tortuous it was for Nelson to be separated from his family for 27 years.
There will never be a film, at least a two hour cinematic experience, which will achieve the goal of showing an audience all the facets of Nelson Mandela. Long Walk to Freedom takes a valiant shot at contrasting the family man with the political prisoner, but it falls short. A noticeable issue is the ending feels rushed and spliced onto a different film. We get to know Nelson in the beginning and his fight against a tyrannical system and we really get to know him in his prison solitude. Yet during the final half hour, Nelson disappears. He is certainly on the screen, but it is more choppy history lesson / news summary than a concluding character arc.
For those of us who only know the basic facts about Nelson Mandela’s life and would like to see a basic primer on his highlights, Long Walk to Freedom will do no harm. If you seek an in-depth study so soon after Nelson’s death and a deeper truth and meaning of it all, this film is not for you. It skims the surface too often fearing to truly take the plunge into the ocean.
I imagine adapting nearly 100 years of a man’s life into a two hour biopic to be one of the more arduous tasks for any filmmaker. What do you include, spend time on, reinforce? What must be left out? You must select, distinguish between, and weigh your themes with care. Included in Long Walk to Freedom are scenes that will educate American audiences on aspects of Mandela’s life they are unfamiliar with, the revolutionary and his personal life.
Concerning the revolutionary, there are scenes of Mandela firing a pistol, learning how to make bombs, and blowing up police stations. In grade school, Americans are taught that Nelson Mandela is one of the world’s greatest peacemakers and holds unquantifiable dignity for his struggle in prison and his fight for equal rights. The history books gloss over the methods that landed him in prison; for a time, Nelson Mandela chose the violent path to challenge an unjust and corrupt government.
Recounting his personal life, writer Justin Nicholson, working from Mandela’s autobiography, included not just the standard ‘Nelson was born here’ and ‘came of age here’ scenes, he lets us know what Mandela was also telling us, he is just a man, warts and all. There are scenes of womanizing and adultery, some neglect and slight physical abuse in his first marriage, and then the ups and downs of Nelson’s relationship with Winnie (Naomie Harris) in his later years.
One of the film’s concluding themes charts the different paths Nelson and Winnie follow upon Nelson’s release from prison. Nelson urged peace and reconciliation. He did not ask people to forget atrocities or cover up the past, but to move forward to try and create a brighter future for everyone. Winnie could not let go of the hate. American audiences, who are mostly unfamiliar with the torture and harsh punishments endured by Winnie under apartheid, may think long and hard whether they could let go of that hate were they in her position. While Winnie argues with Nelson about South Africa’s future, there remains a large amount of sympathy for her character.
Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela is almost unrecognizable in the beginning. I would not have known that was him unless I had already seen the movie poster. You can see Idris more as the film ages Nelson but his portrayal is so strong and his accent so precise, you will remember this performance for a long time to come. He does not physically resemble Nelson, but his portrayal of one of the world’s most beloved figures focuses on a more emotional and spiritual level than one tied to a physique.
Picking and choosing from the events in Mandela’s life to create a composite picture requires very tough choices and a clear vision of what you want to show the audience. Director Justin Chadwick chose to not only emphasize Nelson’s political struggles and prison experience; he chose to display Nelson the family man as well. Long Walk to Freedom starts slow and marks considerable time to reinforce the importance Nelson places on family, his wife and children. This conveys how tortuous it was for Nelson to be separated from his family for 27 years.
There will never be a film, at least a two hour cinematic experience, which will achieve the goal of showing an audience all the facets of Nelson Mandela. Long Walk to Freedom takes a valiant shot at contrasting the family man with the political prisoner, but it falls short. A noticeable issue is the ending feels rushed and spliced onto a different film. We get to know Nelson in the beginning and his fight against a tyrannical system and we really get to know him in his prison solitude. Yet during the final half hour, Nelson disappears. He is certainly on the screen, but it is more choppy history lesson / news summary than a concluding character arc.
For those of us who only know the basic facts about Nelson Mandela’s life and would like to see a basic primer on his highlights, Long Walk to Freedom will do no harm. If you seek an in-depth study so soon after Nelson’s death and a deeper truth and meaning of it all, this film is not for you. It skims the surface too often fearing to truly take the plunge into the ocean.
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