Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Watched it earlier tonight. A reviewer was right when he said Chadwick had done a by-the-numbers job on it.

I am Not a fan of biopics. However, I did enjoy 'Gandhi', and, to a relatively lesser extent, 'Aviator'. Those characters too were undeniably compelling, which made the tales all the more riveting. Mandela's character is definitely one such. However, something was lost in translation when it came to filming Madiba's life's work, ironically, in the year that he was finally laid to rest.

No fault lies with the performers, but choosing to sideline a great many supporting characters and not depict the horrors of apartheid in the year of '12 years a slave' (the preview for which played before this one) seems a tad ironic, in not giving the audience something powerful to root against. I don't know if the responsibility rests with the original work itself (in terms of skimming over the details, that is), but the punch, the power, that was sorely needed to make this a rousing epic that it should aspire for, is missing. Someone needs to remake this, if possible, with the same cast, and hopefully make it more powerful/riveting. The old-age makeup on Elba also took me out of the movie multiple times. U2's 'Ordinary love' plays during the end-credits, but I don't know if the movie would have benefited more from it being played over one of the key sequences (take your pick). Perhaps Justin Chadwick was not the man for this job (He took the bite out of 'the other Boleyn girl', so that aspect's consistent enough, that did not make him suitable for this job in any case).

Having said all that, this is still a decent effort, just about right in most departments, and far better than other by-the-numbers predictable/routine fare playing at the local multiplex.

As a 37 year old white South African, who never really saw, felt or experienced Apartheid and the way SA was back then as I was too young, I now have a much better appreciation for all the suffering, discrimination and pain that was caused.

Nelson Madela gave up most of his adult life for a cause which has now come full circle and SA is now better off for it, mostly.

A powerful movie, that shows a man more passionate about equality and human rights than his own well being, and sadly at the detriment of his own family.

I strongly recommend every single South African to watch this movie, especially our current government!

Nelson Mandela is one of the most important and celebrated political history, known for his imprisonment, his stand against apartheid and his commitment to peace and racial equality. A film based on his autobiography was always going to be of interest and seen as clear awards bait.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom follows a young Nelson Mandela (Idris Elba) in his early days in politics, working as a lawyer in Johannesburg, 1942 and is approached by the ANC to become an achieve member of the defiance movement. During the cause of the film it follows Mandela's relationship with Winnie Madikizela (Naomie Harris), his move into violence, his trial and imprisonment. But the 1980s South Africa becomes ungovernable the Apartheid regime are forced to open negotiations with Mandela.

Mandela's autobiography is a large book, spanning nearly 800 pages and the film attempts to tell the story of over 50 years of history in a 2 hour, 20 minute package. This results in a bio-pic of broad brushstrokes, giving ups brief snippets of moments in Mandela's life, giving us a glance of events instead of going into any details. This is especially the case of the early part of the film, skipping through Mandela's early political activism, the foray into terrorism and the trial. Even the events on Robbin Island were quick and it was only when the film enters into the political negotiations when there is more of a narrative throughout and we able to feel the violent tension South Africa was going through.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom has an excellent cast with the likes of Elba and Harris and they performs were able to transcend the fact they did not look the like people they did played. They get the voices and mannerisms down as the film explores Mandela's and Winnie's different ideologies later on in the film. They relationship is one of the longest running themes of the films. The supporting cast were also very strong in their performances and there was no weak link in the film.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom was helmed by Justin Chadwick and written by William Nicholson. Chadwick is a very safe director and Mandela is a competently made film. His direction is solid, showing casing the period effective, with set pieces being well set up and well shot as the film goes through a lighting pace. But it was the script that was the biggest let down, with Nicholson rushing through Mandela's life instead of letting moments have a chance to breath. This was a film that either needed to be longer, a three hour epic so many parts of Mandela's life could be explored or been more focused on one or two events. There were parts that were just screen writing tricks then a real moments, like the fist metaphor.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is a solidly made, but safe film. There are excellent moments in the second half of the film as South Africa implodes with violence, but it is a very safe film that tries to fit too much in its running time. It is a film that can easily appeal to a middle -aged, mainstream audience.

6.5/10

This is a film that is difficult to judge simply in cinematic terms since the subject is such a titanic figure in recent history, many older viewers (such as me) will have lived through most of the events depicted, and Nelson Mandela himself - the prisoner who became a president - unknowingly heightened the interest around his life by dying just weeks before the film was released. Yet, allowing for all of this, by any standards "Mandela" is a success, telling a powerful story in a honest and immensely moving manner with some outstanding acting. If it is somewhat reverential, this was to be expected, given the subject and the timing.

Unfashionably for recent bio-pics, "Mandela" chooses not to concentrate on a seminal incident in the subject's life but to paint on a huge canvas, covering many decades and lots of political events in a linear narrative that frequently deploys news clips from the time. It is based on Mandela's long 1995 biography of the same name which I bought on a visit to Robben Island and read with great admiration. British William Nicholson ("Gladiator") has done a skillful job of turning such a huge story into a manageable script and British director Justin Chadwick ("The Other Boleyn Girl") handles a complex of ingredients with genuine talent. It looks good with attention to period clothing and artifacts and use of actual sites and some breathtaking countryside (it was shot entirely on location in South Africa).

Ultimately, however, the success of such an ambitious work rests especially on the lead actors and the casting here was inspired. Idris Elba as the eponymous hero gives a towering performance, while Naomie Harris is a revelation as the more complex and less sympathetic character of his second wife Winnie. It helps that both are not major stars - although that is now set to change - and notable that both are British actors who affect convincing accents.

This is a balanced portrayal of multi-layered characters. Mandela is represented with great respect but he is not offered to us as a saint. He treats his first wife unkindly and his support for violence is not disguised. The film really impresses with its representation of Winnie, a woman who suffered so much, hated so much, and herself caused so much injustice. Mandela is now dead but his great project - the creation of a peaceful and prosperous multiracial nation - is still a work in progress.

If you didn't know Idris Elba before this, you will remember his name after this. Mandela you knew (most likely), but if you hadn't read up on him or followed his his life in general, you might not know some of the things that are displayed here. And he's not only shown as being "good" (though that term is always something that can be argued about) in the movie either.

Every man has downsides and every man will have flaws. That doesn't change the fact that Mandella did something great and was a voice that could not be silenced. This lead to family issues obviously and those are portrayed here too. It's hard to get all the details and since this is a movie there is some freedom (no pun intended) in the storytelling. But overall this could be watched in History classes in School.