'The Birth of a Nation' Review

The Birth of a Nation depicts the Nat Turner Rebellion that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, during August 1831. Essentially the plot involves an enslaved Baptist preacher Nat Turner who is asked to preach sermons glorifying slavery to his fellow slaves in hopes of stalling any uprisings. Turner, motivated by scripture contrary to slavery and upon seeing more and more horrific treatment of his kind, determines that the only solution is violence and a historic uprising alongside his fellowman.

I went into this film with no idea of what to expect, it was lauded at Sundance Film Festival and after some rape scandals surfaced involving director, screenwriter, producer, and star Nate Parker and co-writer Jean Celestin the film received a mixed reception with last weekend's wide theatrical release. I also felt that the historical insurrection was always a little obscure to me in regards to what happened beyond it being a slave revolt and was hoping this film would clear that up and I do feel that I learned a great deal from the film, journeying to the internet afterwards to fact-check for historical accuracy in some areas I felt may have been dramatized.

I'm not sure the world will ever know exactly how much of The Birth of a Nation was historically accurate, considering that history is often written by the winners of conflict but from what I could tell it seemed fairly accurate in regards to the characterization and depiction of events. I feel it's important to view film objectively ignoring the ongoing controversies regarding artists, separating the art from the artists, and that is definitely required for anyone that wants to get anything out of The Birth of a Nation.

Nate Parker makes his feature length directorial debut and in addition both wrote the screenplay and stars in the historical biographic drama. Parker's direction is strong, focused, and excellently wields the atrocities of slavery to both shock and remind the viewer how dreadful slavery was. My only grievance is that the pacing set forth by Parker was a tad uneven at times. Parker and cinematographer Elliot Davis capture some incredible visuals and expertly weave some meaningful imagery into The Birth of a Nation's powerful messages.

While the messages in The Birth of a Nation regarding slavery, treatment of others, and biblical interpretation are filled with passion, the screenplay penned by Parker and Celestin isn't consistent as I'd have liked it to be. The first act moves along slowly, and in the second act there are some shifts in character motivation that didn't feel expanded upon, but intermittently the duo manage to write some really compelling back and forth dialogue for the more emotionally impactful scenes. The film also features a great deal of spiritual music that amplifies the proceedings and great score from Henry Jackman.

The performances in The Birth of a Nation are without a doubt one of the films highlights. Nate Parker demonstrates a more nuanced performance and manages to depict his fair share of emotional range in the film's brutal moments. The supporting cast boasts a great number of terrific performers consisting of Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, Jackie Earle Haley, Mark Boone Jr., Colman Domingo, Aja Naomi King.

Was The Birth of a Nation the masterpiece it was made out to be by Sundance? No, but it's certainly an impressive showcase of good filmmaking that historians and cinema enthusiasts should enjoy.

Film Assessment: B