Review of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013) by Thomas W — 02 Jul 2014

Englishman Idris Elba puts on a good show in this ambitious, overly long tribute of a film to the recently departed Nelson Mandela. By casting the 6'2" Elba (Thor, Prometheus, 'The Wire') to play the much smaller (in stature only), iconic political hero of South Africa, the filmmakers went with an already established talent who is already capable of commandeering the screen as the film is already stretched thinly as director Justin Chadwick's Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom hopes to recount as much life and political ascendancy as possible.

Because this happens, many influential characters and/or events appear to play less vital roles in the man's formative years. Also chronicling a few early years of Mandela with the anti-Apartheid movement that led to the trumped up charges against him, Mandela ended up serving 27 years in an isolated South African prison before being released and elected president himself of his Rainbow Nation soon afterward.

The only other actor given some significant face time in this feature is Naomie Harris (Skyfall) as Nelson's long-suffering, first wife, Winny, whose outspoken demeanor also won her legions of supporters as well as enemies of the state.

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