Dreadful
How on earth this 'director' managed to turn a fascinating true story into a second rate Austen-esque melodrama is a puzzle. This film should have been brutal and moving - it should have been about slavery, racism, class and a real examination of the extent to which wealth could blur the colour line of 18th century England. Instead what we got was nothing short of a grossly sentimental episode of Downton Abbey with a biracial lead actress. Clearly the filmmaker thought the novelty of a coloured actress in a period drama would be enough and a decent script, competent direction or acting was entirely secondary.
For such a drudgingly slow paced film, the director is very heavy handed and shows us only glimpses of the abolition movement and most crucially she rushes through the 'romances' with these uncharismatic men who we never quite come to understand when, why or how she fell for them. Without the audience being convinced of this love, the film fails as both a historical drama and romantic drama. It is quite simply one of the worst directorial jobs ive seen in a while.
The actors are mostly fine. Gugu as the lead does her best, though I was not at all convinced by her genuine ambivalence for the two men. The scene where she claws at her own skin colour was poignant and possibly the most memorable.
The man she falls in love is played by an actor who looks constipated throughout the entire film. He displays no charm in either looks or voice and it is a puzzle as to why she would have fallen for this man. The older cast are solid, though Penelope Wilton is incredibly funny and steals the scenes shes in.
Intriguing topic, decent acting, dreadful movie. Avoid.