By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
Some journalists would have their readers believe Will Smith was snubbed from a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor, which would be misleading and blatantly false. John Boyega (“Breaking”) was snubbed, Will Smith was not. Smith’s performance doesn’t even scratch the top ten leading actor performances of the year, let alone top five. “Emancipation” turns out to be just another Civil War era, slavery movie that’s been done multiple times before to greater degrees of success.
Inspired by the famous 1863 photos of Peter (Will Smith), an enslaved man riddled with whipping scars across his mutilated back, “Emancipation” follows Peter’s harrowing escape through the swamps of Louisiana as he tries to return to his family. Hot on his heels are his enslavers, led by a cold-blooded hunter named Jim Fassel (Ben Foster), who has a blatant disregard for human life. Peter must overcome terrible odds to survive not only his crazed pursuers, but also the deadly natural tribulations facing him in the swamps amid encroaching Civil War battles to make his dream of a family reunion a possibility.
“Emancipation” is directed by Antoine Fuqua, who hasn’t made a great film since “Training Day” back in 2001, and that still holds true with this movie. Fuqua is more suited to the action genre than the historical drama genre, having more recently directed “The Equalizer” films, which explains the confused identity of “Emancipation.” He tries combining heartfelt drama with an action blockbuster and fails at both. He ends up creating an odd mix of “12 Years a Slave” and “The Running Man” that simply doesn’t work. The action sequences are sometimes riveting and suspenseful, while other times rudimentary and mired in predictability.
Fuqua does creatively film in both color and black and white, which provides an appropriately bleaker feel to the story. However, he neglects character development to the point of malfeasance, creating very basic, stereotypical characters particularly the antagonists, who are so obvious and one-dimensional that they could be dropped into any run of the mill action film. This chips away at the genuine intent and impact of the story.
The star of the movie, Will Smith, is desperately trying to rehabilitate his image after notoriously slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards earlier this year. While his performance is sufficient, it’s not great and should not be considered for any nominations. Smith’s performance can best be described as egotistical and doesn’t fit the character he’s trying to portray. Although, at times throughout the film he achieves some measure of vulnerability that successfully tugs at the audience’s heart strings, but it’s few and far between and diluted by a half-hearted attempt at a Haitian accent. Smith does dial up the anger very well, making his transition into vengeful violence believable.
Ben Foster is a solid actor who musters a convincing performance despite the severe lack of character development as the morally depraved slave hunter. He’s a professional who has always had the ability to become and remain in character, as evidenced previous films like “Hell or High Water” and “The Messenger.” The rest of the supporting cast is decent but lacks any special performances that elevate the quality of the production.
“Emancipation” is interesting in a historical and visual sense but fails to bring anything we haven’t already seen many times before, making for a very bland filmgoing experience. 1989’s “Glory” is still the best film in this particular genre. If you’re intent on watching it, don’t waste the money on a theater ticket, it’s available on Apple TV+.
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