Review of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013) by H G — 04 Jan 2014

Justin Chadwick might understand how to compose a beautiful shot, and how to efficiently tell a story that spanned over four decades, but he doesn't understand how to evenly paint a portrait of a complicated person. The film feels more like a puff piece for Nelson Mandela, who definitely was a great man, but who had certain aspects of his life that weren't great.

The Good: Imagery - This is a beautiful looking film. Chadwick seems to know how to paint a romantic picture of the past with his colorful and warm images, as well as, showing the depths of depravity in the prison with the colder images here. The images tell a story themselves about what this film is trying to say about Mandela, and that's the work of a strong filmmaker.

A broken marriage - The one part of the film that really worked for me was showing how Mandela's activism affected his relationships in his life. Watching he and his wife slowly move away from each other as their ideologies change was pretty fascinating.

Idris Elba - I think he's a fascinating performer, and he gives another wonderful performance here, even if the screenplay doesn't help him out too much.

The Bad: Not much of a portrait of a man - This is not a film that's very interested in showing the psyche or the motivations of Mandela as a human being, it's much more interested in just showing the events in his life. We don't know much more about this man except for the things that happened to him in his life. I would have loved to learn more about this man, and what made him into what he became, rather than just seeing the things that happened to him.

Puff piece - Similar to the Steve Jobs biopic this year, this film seems only interested in showing how much of a hero this man was. Early in the film they show that he cheated on his wife, and how his wife left him. But instead of focusing on the flaws of this man, we quickly see him get involved with a woman who appreciates his activism. He always seems to have the right answer, rarely makes mistakes, and the film doesn't seem to be interested in showing Nelson Mandela, the man, but Nelson Mandela the icon.

The Smugly (Movie snob nitpicks): Too fast paced - Now this might be a complaint that only I will have, but the film moves too fast at times. There is so much to talk about in Mandela's life that the film simply shows what happened without ever pausing to look at how it affected the man. I appreciate that the film wasn't slow, but maybe Chadwick should have been a little more focused in what he was trying to show or maybe I just disagree with what he was trying to show.