Review of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013) by Nick D — 23 Dec 2013
Biopics are a tough genre, and a particular pet peeve of mine. Actors who successfully inhabit the physicality of a well-known personage seem to get more approbation than actors creating a character from whole cloth -- it's alchemy vs.
magic to me. In this case, given Mandela's status as a global secular saint, this was a movie I wanted to like more than I did. Elba passes the test: I bought his impersonation. Alas, it suffers from the curse of the biopic: excessive reverence, telescopic storytelling, and triumphalism.
We see a few rough edges, but, truly, how else would you tell the story of this life, this movement, and the sweep of history in 2 hours?
This review of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013) was written by Nick D on 23 Dec 2013.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom has generally received positive reviews.
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