Review of Amazing Grace (2007) by Chads. — 16 Mar 2007

As William Wilberforce(Ioan Gruffudd) lectures from aboard the slave-ship Madagascar, his floating audience(they're in an adjacent rowboat) cover their noses with handkerchiefs. Wilberforce instructs them to remove their cloths and breathe in "the smell of death".

"Amazing Grace", however, holds its own nose to the historical stench of forced labor by largely keeping slavery off-screen. The only major black character, Oloudaqh(Youssou N'Dour), doesn't even get to speak.

In a film about his ancestry, N'Dour is almost a token. He doesn't even get to sing the title song(at least Mahalia Jackson sings in Douglas Sirk's "Imitation of Life"). Worst yet, Oloudaqh is a profiteer(his slave narrative sells 50,000 copies).

He has no rousing "give me free" moment(Djimon Honsou in "Amistad"), just a few silent tears rolling down his cheek. So we're largely stuck with the do-gooder Wilberforce, who is undoubtedly a great man; but as written in this well-meaning film, this earnest samaritan is more symbol than man.

It's flaws that brings a character to life. Oskar Schindler was a womanizer. Wilberforce had bad stomach aches. He also says irritating things like, "How can we live in houses like this, while they live in boxes.

" "Amazing Grace" has one very effective flashback that shows how ugly institutionalized racism is; but it's not enough, not if you're going to canonize Wilberforce with a standing ovation as the musical score swells into histrionics.

After all, Wilberforce never actually had to wear those manacles and leg braces.