The Birth of A Nation Review

R: Disturbing Violent Content, and Some Brief Nudity 

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Bron Studios, Mandalay Pictures, Phantom Four, Tiny Giant Entertainment

2 Hrs and 0 Minutes

Cast: Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King, Jackie Earle Haley, Penelope Ann Miller, Gabrielle Union, Esther Scott

REVIEW: It was Junior year back in 2014 in U.S History where we spent two days to a week where we learned about Nat Turner and his rebellion against slavery. I was baffled because, prior to being an eleventh grader I had no idea who this man was and the revolution he started. I told my U.S History teacher that someone should ought to make a biopic about him. It wasn’t till I was a senior in January of this year when I heard about this film and was anticipating it for the longest. I even sent my folks to see this film back in August in Manhattan while I attended Florence Foster Jenkins and I was angry there were no other days to attend a screening for either film.

Set against the antebellum South, THE BIRTH OF A NATION follows Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat's preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities - against himself and his fellow slaves - Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.

THE GOOD:What I love about slavery films nowadays, [which is a puzzling sentence to start a review with] is that the directors that make you feel bad about slavery are mostly directors of African descent. From Steve McQueen with 12 Years A Slave to Amma Asante with Belle and now actor turned director Nate Parker with Birth of a Nation, they all show slavery at its harshest and disturbing and they’re unapologetic about it. With a film that sparked so much controversy since its debut at Sundance, everyone should know about the empowerment of Birth of a Nation.

I always envision directors creating biopics is the same as a student typing up a research paper to recite it in front of his class. Recently we’ve had biopics released left and right so if this was a research paper, this is one of the most moving papers I’ve heard this year. Like many biopics about a certain character, Birth of a Nation follows the life of Nat Turner from his childhood to adulthood. It hits every different plot points in his life that you know even the worst things. One of the things that triggered me when I learned about Turner was after he was killed, he was castrated and disembodied. Thankfully the film doesn’t show it. 

We see the harshness of slavery and how brutal it is. It never lets up or shy away. It may be as violent as 12 Years a Slave, but it does feature more disturbing imagery. There are so many gut wrenching moments to cringe yet it captures America at its worst time. These films centered in periods during slavery are more horrific than today’s horror movies. There’s numerous moments of intensity that gets you jump scared if a person of color wasn’t doing the “right” thing. A whip is one of the scariest weapon that a horror film can ever have. And don’t be a slave master in a film, most likely you’re going detach any sense of good will I had for you and it’ll take years to gain your love again. It took me till I saw Frank to forgive Michael Fassbender and I saw that two months ago. We have Armie Hammer who doesn’t go full Michael Fassbender thankfully but, he is a complex character.

A great thing about this film is the complexity of characters. There is so much depth that we read off of Nat and Samuel from their youth that bought them to their adulthood. With Samuel you’re introduced to him being a friend of Nat he used to play with while his father slave owner being harsh and brutal. When he’s an adult you see him attempting to be the kind hearted man he once was as a child. But once he’s inherited his land, he slowly follows his father legacy that you truly feel bad for.

The film is centered on Nat and his legacy that nobody knew that he had. From being a literate boy that learned about how to read the bible and how he interpret it. He was a preacher but he was the first African American to take action from the words he read. It isn’t about a man who snapped from his oppressors but a man who read and took in the words from the bible. The bible said cut off the serpent’s head, so there’s a point Nat goes “oh okay. I must do the Lord’s words.” It plays like it does and its thrilling once the rebellion begins. You see the most disturbing imagery that slavery has to offer which doesn't fuel Nate's inner rage but also yourself as an audience.

Besides the character aspect, the filmmaking is amazing. The cinematography is beautiful from the different landscapes we see from plantations to the houses and the woods. The lighting goes well with the different set pieces we see from a blue foggy forest to a grey towns square where the final battle commences. For a first time director, you see how influenced his style is from an atmosphere as tense as a Mel Gibson film, a violent view as bloody as Tarentino, and a cinematic contrast look as McQueen. It hits all the nails it needs to hit especially its repossession of its title which rooted from the film that was released 100 years ago. If you don’t know the original Birth of a Nation was a film that centered on white supremacy of men that lived in America to infuse the conceited void for America. Parker singlehandedly took that title and rightfully used it for a much better story that really sparked a change within time throughout history.

THE BAD: As ambitious and moving this film it, it reminds you each time it is an independent film. Its not a bad thing to be an independent film, but you can tell it is from its over usage of symbolic imagery. Its great to be symbolic, but its a bit over done. It has little to no subtlety. The story is sometimes randomly shot with its story that gets you a bit confused and lost but this subject is much bigger than the nitpicks I have against it.

Somewhere in the film out of nowhere there was an actress that looked familiar. I couldn’t put my name on it. She looked very familiar. She was there briefly so it just flew over my head. But second time she’s onscreen, it hit me. Hey its Gabrielle Union. Who is there for a brief brief brieeeeef moment. She’s shown twice and then she’s gone. 

Birth of A Nation is one of those films that I don’t question its R rating, but its something for everyone to see. A film like Selma was screened for schools as a lesson for history on trips due to its PG13 rating. It was even shown for free for students. This is one of those films U.S History teachers should take their class to see. Yes its graphic and violent and will break young viewers into tears. But with a film as powerful as this, who cares about its MPAA rating, because its a lesson worth learning especially for today’s youth.

LAST STATEMENT: Ambitiously gripping, and profoundly moving, Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation is an amazing biopic that brilliantly revolutionize its message of injustice that still lives on today.

Rating: 4/5 | 85%

Super Scene: Bridget Turner’s speech to Nat