In “Emancipation,” director Antoine Fuqua’s slavery drama starring Will Smith, the same motivation courses throughout the film are based on the true story of Gordon’s escape and his service in the Union army. The film begins with Peter (Smith) being enslaved on Captain Lyons’ plantation, where he and his wife Dodienne (Charmaine Bingwa) and kids are. When Peter is sold to the Confederate Army for railroad work, nothing can crush his resolve to reunite with his beloved family.
Peter begins his journey to freedom by escaping from a plantation in the south. He’ll have to face the dangers of the swamps of Louisiana and the cruel chase of overseer Jim Fassel (Ben Foster). But Peter keeps his eyes focused on freedom, even though it may be a long way off.
The story of Peter Gordon’s back is more embellished than the story of Gordon’s time as a slave. The story of Peter Gordon’s time as a slave is repetitive and has no emotional heart. The story of Emancipation is exploitative and has no emotional heart.
The cinematography in Peter’s story is beautiful, but it’s also off-putting. The camera work is so coordinated and postured that it feels like it’s too much like a movie set instead of a real life story. The black and white style only makes the feeling worse.
The film’s focus is too wide and contrived, and the story does not explore the humanity within its characters deeply enough. There are still pockets of truth and poignancy where the film decides to address deeper motivations of its characters, but Bill Collage’s script doesn’t dig deeper in these brief moments.
Smith’s performance is admirable, as he portrays Peter with a palpable, just-under-the-surface rage. In the end, however, he has little to work with. Fuqua and Collage had the opportunity to give the man from the famous picture a voice. To show who Peter might have been as a person, and not only display the suffering he experienced. And it slipped through their grasp.
In 1863, Gordon’s photograph was taken and circulated throughout the United States. This photograph of a man in chains brought attention to his suffering and inspired people to act. To bring back this photograph for modern society’s gaze requires an emotional intelligence–a purpose beyond just suffering. Emancipation doesn’t quite hit that mark. ..
The emancipation of slaves in the United States was a complex and protracted process that began with the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and ended with the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865. The proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln, freed all slaves in Confederate-controlled areas of the South. The amendment, passed by Congress, granted voting rights to all citizens of the United States regardless of race.
