The Birth of a Nation
Blu-ray
Review
by Kam Williams
Nate Parker
Writes, Directs and Stars in Nat Turner Biopic
Nat Turner
(Nate Parker) was born into slavery on October 2, 1800 on a sprawling
plantation located in Southampton County, Virginia. There, as a
precocious child, he exhibited a thirst for knowledge at an early age
and learned to read the Bible with the help of his masters, Samuel
(Armie Hammer) and Elizabeth Turner (Penelope Ann Miller). The couple
simultaneously shielded him from the brutality of the evil
institution by granting him the privilege of living and working in
the mansion rather than having to toil in the cotton fields alongside
his mother (Aunjanue Ellis) and grandmother (Esther Scott).
Nat grew up
a deeply-religious boy, and was turned into a traveling preacher
tasked with spreading the word of God to fellow slaves from
neighboring towns. In that capacity, his job was to keep the masses
of oppressed African-Americans content with their miserable lot in
life by reciting scriptural passages like "Submit yourselves to
your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but
also to the cruel." (1 Peter 2:18)
However,
the more he witnessed the atrocities associated with slavery, the
more outraged he became. And by the time he reached adulthood, he'd
not only become convinced that it was evil, but he'd started
surreptitiously quoting Biblical verses supporting that conclusion,
such as "Do not become slaves of men." (1 Corinthians 7:23)
Nat
subsequently had a miraculous vision in which he was directly ordered
by God to set his people free. That transformative moment would serve
as the inspiration for a bloody insurrection which would begin with
the slaying of his masters and ultimately claim about 60 more white
slave owner lives.
All of the
above is graphically depicted in The Birth of a Nation, a reverential
biopic marking the impressive directorial debut of Nate Parker (The
Great Debaters). Nate also co-wrote the script and stars here, as Nat
Turner, in a revisionist period piece which effectively recasts as a
hero an infamous slave revolt leader previously denigrated by history
because of his resort to violence.
This
compelling drama landed both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience
Award at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, and had emerged as the
prohibitive Best Picture Academy Award favorite until buzz about Mr.
Parker's having been accused of rape while in college went viral
across the blogosphere. An emotionally-unsettling alternate version
of a controversial chapter in America's slave legacy!
Excellent (4
stars)
Rated R for
brief nudity and disturbing violence
Running time: 120 minutes
Distributor: Distributor: 20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment
Blu-ray Extras: Rise
Up: The Legacy of Nat Turner Documentary; Feature Commentary by
director Nate Parker; deleted scenes with optional director
commentary; The Birth of a Nation: The Making of a Movement;
#AmeriCAN (Short Film) with optional director commentary; Free God:
Spoken Word; Celebration of Independent Voices – Nate Parker; the
shooting script; and a stills gallery.
To see a trailer for The Birth of
a Nation, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i18z1EQCoyg
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