Review of The Birth of a Nation (2016) by Patrick L — 15 Mar 2017

'Birth of a Nation' harnesses a powerful message and conveys it potently through emotive language and disturbing imagery. Films about slavery are nothing new but Nate Parker (as Director, Producer and Actor) excellently adapts this rarely publicised true story that definitely engages and shocks viewers with unapologetic violence.

I criticised '12 Years a Slave' for throwing in generic slavery tropes and 'Birth of a Nation' acts similarly; however in this instance the scenes are visually stronger and possess genuine purpose in fuelling the character's motivations.

This trumps a lot of slavery productions in my opinion and demonstrates that films of this genre remain a difficult yet important watch.