An unrecognizable Will Smith stars as an enslaved man in Civil War era Louisiana, who decides upon hearing about Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation to escape from a labor camp through the bayou in an attempt to reach Union forces in Baton Rouge, in Antoine Fuqua’s EMANCIPATION. Will Smith’s character was inspired by a real person, the man with the heavily scarred back in the famous Civil War photo, who really did escape slavery to reach an Union encampment. The photo, known as “Whipped Peter” or “the Scourged Back,” was widely circulated during the Civil War and was instrumental in convincing Northerners of the truth of the brutality of slavery.
EMANCIPATION is a true-story inspired tale of the Civil War South without the mint juleps and “Gone with the Wind” fantasy. As the film opens, we see enslaved blacksmith Peter (Will Smith) living a hard life on the plantation of Captain John Lyons (Jayson Warner Smith), along with his wife Dodienne (Charmaine Bingwa) and their children. It is two years into the Civil war when Confederate forces arrive to conscript him and other enslaved men to work building a railroad track, much to the dismay of the plantation owner. In an emotional scene, Peter is taken from his family and shipped off with others in a prison cart. Arriving at the muddy labor camp, he and other enslaved people are worked until they drop, with bodies thrown into a common grave. All the time, they are under the watchful eye of a renowned slave-catcher named Fassel (Ben Foster) and his two employees, one of whom is a former slave, and the camp is encircled by hanged bodies and heads on pikes as warnings of the risks of escape. Rumors about Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation are overheard and, when an opportunity arises, Peter and three others, Gordon (Gilbert Owuor), Tomas (Jabbar Lewis), and John (Michael Luwoye) escape to cross the treacherous bayou in a bid to reach the Union forces fighting at Baton Rouge.
That chase makes up the bulk of the film, as the escapees are pursued by Fassel and his henchmen. One of the escapees is killed and the others decide to split up, making Smith’s character a man alone in a dangerous wilderness of swamp, venous snakes and alligators, pursued by a blood-thirsty fanatic, giving the film a propulsive thriller urgency, as it races towards its moving, inspiring conclusion.
Not a lot is known about the real man in the photo but director Antoine Fuqua and scriptwriter William N. Collage have taken what is known and crafted an inspiring story of determination to reach freedom amid the violence of slavery. It is also a violent story, as Fuqua does not blink in showing the true brutality of slavery, nor the relentlessness and cruelty of slave-catchers. The film is shot in a highly-desaturated color, so much so that at times it appears to be black and white, a visual choice that tamps down the visceral effect of the violence. Many on the characters in the film are based on real people, including Peter and his ruthless pursuer Fassel (in a chilling portrayal by Ben Foster), the plantation owner Captain Lyons, and a Black officer Captain Andre Cailloux (an excellent Mustafa Shakir), a legendary heroic figure of the Civil War.
The story is admirable and the film is inspiring and heroic, but it is not a film without flaws. The desaturated color tends to come and go scene to scene, which proves more distracting than if it was consistent. Smith’s character and his wife speak with Caribbean accents, sometimes in French creole, and other enslaved people have those accents too, and although there is some historic basis (some French plantation owners fled the Haitian Revolution for Louisiana), the accents seem likely to puzzle at least some audience members, raising questions that go unanswered. As said earlier, Smith is nearly-unrecognizable with his face covered in a beard and his stoic character also damps down his unusual on-screen charm. Scenes are often very dark, which is appropriate to the tone, but in the low light of the swamp, it makes it difficult to discern nuances of expression on Smith’s face. The character’s steely demeanor also limits the range of expression, although Smith does a fine job with what the director allows.
It is a great subject for a film but the film tries perhaps a bit too hard to fill in the blanks of the little-known actual person in the famous photo, which raises questions the film doesn’t answer. In many ways, the film feels like a bold Oscar bait reach and while it has admirable aspects, Will Smith feels miscast. Following up his Best Actor Oscar win for “King Richard” and all the uproar around “the slap,” Will Smith seems determined to take another bite at that apple with a dramatic role. But while his role in “King Richard” allowed him to show some of the charm that had made him an audience favorite, this role does not. Smith’s Peter is determined to be free and committed to his faith and the family he loves, but he is a rather steely, remote character, inspiring and determined rather than likable or warm. It doesn’t feel like the right character for Will Smith, although as noted he does as a fine job as possible with it.
This inspiring story has a lot of potential, enough that one can’t help wanting it to succeed, but the inconsistent desaturated color, puzzling details that go unexplained, and Smith’s iron-jawed character work against it. It is not as strong as cinema or as successful narratively as 12 YEARS A SLAVE. Still, it is beautifully shot and deserves credit as a heroic story that is far different from most Civil War tales.
EMANCIPATION opens Friday, Dec. 9, in theaters.
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
