Amazing Grace (2006 film)
Amazing Grace | |
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Directed by | Michael Apted |
Written by | Steven Knight |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Remi Adefarasin |
Edited by | Rick Shaine |
Music by | David Arnold |
Production companies |
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Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 118 minutes |
Countries | United Kingdom United States |
Language | English |
Budget | US$29 million |
Box office | US$32.1 million[1] |
Amazing Grace is a 2006
The film premièred on 16 September 2006 at the
Plot
In 1797, William Wilberforce is severely ill and taking a recuperative holiday in
The story flashes back 15 years to 1782, and Wilberforce recounts the events that led him to where he is now. Beginning as a young, ambitious, and popular Member of Parliament (MP), he experiences a
Pitt becomes Prime Minister and Wilberforce becomes a key supporter and confidant. Pitt gives Wilberforce the opportunity to present a bill before the house outlawing the slave trade. Wilberforce's passionate campaigning leads him to become highly unpopular in the
Wilberforce keeps up the fight but after years of failure he is left exhausted and frustrated that he was unable to change anything in the government. Believing his life's work has been in vain, he becomes physically ill, suffering from chronic colitis which causes him to become addicted to laudanum prescribed for the crippling pain, which brings the story back up to 1797. Having virtually given up hope, Wilberforce considers leaving politics forever. Barbara convinces him to keep fighting because there is no other person who is willing or able to do so. A few days afterward, William Wilberforce and Barbara marry. Several years pass with no further success. Wilberforce's wife and new children provide him with the support and strength needed to carry on the fight.
Finally, with a renewed hope for success Wilberforce devises a backdoor method of slowly weakening the slave trade through seemingly innocuous legislation. Aided by Thornton, Clarkson, and new ally James Stephen and cheered on by the now terminally ill Pitt, he reintroduces his bill to abolish the slave trade. In time, after the 20-year campaign and many attempts to bring legislation forward, he is eventually responsible for a bill being passed through Parliament in 1807, which abolishes the slave trade in the British Empire forever.
Cast
- Ioan Gruffudd as William Wilberforce
- Barbara Spooner
- Benedict Cumberbatch as William Pitt the Younger
- Albert Finney as John Newton
- Michael Gambon as Charles James Fox
- Rufus Sewell as Thomas Clarkson
- Youssou N'Dour as Olaudah Equiano
- Ciarán Hinds as Banastre Tarleton
- William, Duke of Clarence
- Nicholas Farrell as Henry Thornton
- Sylvestra Le Touzel as Marianne Thornton
- Jeremy Swift as Richard the Butler
- Stephen Campbell Moore as James Stephen
- Bill Paterson as Henry Dundas
- Nicholas Day as Sir William Dolben
- Georgie Glen as Hannah More
Production
The film was shot primarily in
A number of outside scenes were shot at the former
Executive Producer is Jeanney Kim, with Mark Cooper as co-producer. Producers on the film are Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line) and Ed Pressman under their Sunflower Productions banner, Patricia Heaton and David Hunt for FourBoys Films, and Ken Wales.[4]
Music
The soundtrack of
Reception
Box office
Amazing Grace brought in a little over $4 million at the US box office over its opening weekend of 23–25 February 2007, making it the 10th-highest-grossing film for the weekend, behind such new releases as The Astronaut Farmer and The Number 23. As of 26 August 2007 the film had $32,050,774.[1]
Critical response
Amazing Grace received positive reviews. Philip French described the film as "not exactly innovative" and compared it to "earnestly worthy prewar Warner Brothers cinebiographies". Overall he called it "a very decent contribution to the present bicentennial celebrations of the parliamentary bill that outlawed the slave trade in the British empire".[6] Wally Hammond writing for Time Out singled out Benedict Cumberbatch's performance for praise saying his performance "quietly upstaged" the fine performance of Gruffudd.[7] The Guardian gave it a C− for the entertainment value and an A− for its historical accuracy.[8]
Review aggregation website
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Evening Standard British Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Steven Knight | Nominated |
2008 | London Film Critics' Circle | British Breakthrough - Acting | Benedict Cumberbatch | Nominated |
2008 | Christopher Award | Feature Film | Amazing Grace | Won |
2008 | Genesis Awards | Outstanding Feature Film | Nominated | |
2007 | Humanitas Prize | Feature Film | Nominated | |
2007 | Satellite Award |
Production Design | David Allday Matthew Gray Charles Wood |
Nominated |
Best Costume Design | Jenny Beavan | Nominated |
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Amazing Grace (2007)". Box Office Mojo. 6 August 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
- ^ Full details of the filming can be found at Gloucester Docks and the Sharpness Canal website – Filming "Amazing Grace" and details of the ships used at Square Sail on the Canal.
- ^ "St Mary, Garsington". A Church Near You. Archbishops' Council. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
- ^ "Film Overview". Bristol Bay Productions. Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ "Dove Awards Spread Praise Among Christian/Gospel Artists" (Press release). Gospel Music Association. 23 April 2008. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011.
- ^ French, Philip (22 September 2007). "Amazing Grace". Observer. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014.
- ^ Wally Hammond (23 March 2007). "Amazing Grace". Time Out. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014.
- ^ Tunzelmann, Alex von (19 February 2015). "Is Amazing Grace's take on the slave trade historically accurate?". The Guardian.
- ^ "Amazing Grace (2007)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster.
- ^ "Amazing Grace". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
External links
- Amazing Grace at IMDb
- Amazing Grace at the better source needed]
- Amazing Grace at Rotten Tomatoes
- Amazing Grace at Box Office Mojo
- Amazing Grace at AllMovie
- Amazing Grace at Metacritic