Review of Cry Freedom (1987) by Jacob H — 26 Dec 2013

Cry Freedom opens immediately powerfully by depicting the violent demolition of a slum in East London, Africa which immediately sets up the intense theme of the film which it consistently maintains.

Yet Cry Freedom succeeds especially in one area: it is both inspiring and heart breaking, dramatic and spirited. It maintains multiple tones and never forgets the importance of its story thanks to the strong direction of Richard Attenborough.

In the story that covers the life of Steve Biko, Richard Attenborough makes the smart decision to cover the elements of his life as well as the aftermath of his death so that we witness him develop and witness his posthumous legacy as well. He really knows what makes Steve Biko an important figure and works to ensure that viewers understand that as well as he does. And Cry Freedom is consistently well scripted, well shot on beautiful locations and powerfully convincing with plenty of intensity to convey just how shocking a brutal that the story has as a historical influence.

Really, in terms of scale and impact of the story, Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom is inferior to his earlier biopic Gandhi but superior to his later biopic Chaplin. Most of the praise in Cry Freedom goes to its fine leads.

Kevin Kline was a great lead because it isn't very often you see him in such a political effort, but in Cry Freedom he exercises a skill for portraying political activism which makes himn a charistmatic lead role and a genial dramatic presence. He really carries the story well, even though he is overshadowed by Denzel Washington.

Cry Freedom shows a side to Denzel Washington that all his fans and all viewers worldwide must witness, because instead of being a powerful American figure, he is a powerless black activist in South Africa trying to make a stand. And as he strikes into the heart of all the viewers he inflicts an effect on all the surrounding characters which we understand for every aspect except experiencing it. Its so easy to sympathise with him and even easier to be convinced by him because Denzel Washington's natural talent as an actor is so powerful that ir scored him his deserving first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

If there were any criticisms I would have to say its that for one thing after Denzel Washington stops appearing on screen the momentum decreases and everything slows down from there, pacing and dramatic effect included. The impact is no longer so strong, and things seem to stretch on for a long time. Although the story of Donald Woods attempting to expose the nature of Steve Biko's death and his subsequent escape from South Africa is an interesting one, it just doesn't feel like it moves at a consistent pace or that it is dramatised as well as the more intense scenes.

Really, without Steve Biko around there isn't too much stimulation on screen instead of just memories of his dying spirit, and the suffering of characters involved with him. It seems more meaningful than it looks, but Cry Freedom is still good. No matter what, it still holds one of Denzel Washington's most eccentric performances and one of his finest supporting performances of all time.