'The Birth of a Nation' A Review

The Birth of a Nation is a historical biopic about Nat Turner, played by writer/director Nate Parker, and his 1831 slave rebellion. The film opens on a ritual with Nat as a boy being told by an unnamed man that he is meant to lead. Mrs. Turner, the plantation mistress, notices that Nat can read and gives him the bible and helps him with his reading. Years pass. Nat as an adult falls in love with a fellow slave Cherry(Aja Naomi King) and is made to preach to adjacent plantations in order to quell any rebellious sentiments. After seeing the degradation of his fellow slaves as well as personal abuses he leads a group of slaves in an uprising.

Parker as the lead has flashes of real brilliance and inspiration in the midst of a mostly conventional and sedate performance. King as the romantic lead is serviceable but entirely reactive. Aunjanue Ellis as Nat's mother provides some much needed emotional dimension but seemingly exists only in relation to Nat. Arnie Hammer as Nat's master is out of his depth and gives a relatively flat turn. Jackie Earle Haley is underutilized as the villain, hitting caricature not character. The cast boasts considerable talent but they are all hamstrung by the script and the formulaic tone.

Visually the film is unremarkable, nothing deficient but nothing dynamic. There are two moments of magical realism(a dream sequence and a prophetic image of a bleeding ear of corn) which show promise but which the film doesn't carry through on and seem almost from a different film. The score is incredibly distracting with multiple unnecessary syrupy orchestral swells which detract as oppose to heighten important moments.

The plot itself is problematic. The female characters are all underdeveloped and exist only in relation to the male characters(not an uncommon cinematic shortcoming but still a glaring issue). This is especially noticeable in the two rape scenes in the film which only serve to further Nat's motivation. These are relatively egregious examples of Hollywood's often used trope- rape-as-plot-device which in 2016 in our current artistic climate we cannot give a pass to. Nat's transformation is also muddled and although there are rousing moments we never get a real sense of the basic what and why of the story. One can't help but compare it unfavorably to the considerably more dynamic 12 Years A Slave.

An admirable if flat and unsurprising freshman offering from writer/director/star Nate Parker.

Don't See It.