Disney’s success in the film medium has come from a lot of factors, but one of the chief ones is their ability to fully reinvent themselves, even while still having a foothold in the past.  When you look over the whole of their film library, primarily among their animated canon, you see a lot of highs and lows in their history, with the high points standing out as the defining elements of their studio character.  While varied degrees of success have come their way, their primary expertise has always been fairy tales and legends.  It would make sense, since that’s how the Disney company started out in features, with the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937.  Since then, any era of advancement in the Disney company usually is marked by the release of another fairy tale classic, like Cinderella (1950) and Sleeping Beauty (1959) in the Golden Era of the 50’s, or The Little Mermaid (1989) and Beauty and the Beast (1991) in the Disney Renaissance, or even in the Digital Era with Frozen (2013).  Each of these successful fairy tale features also built up a lucrative brand for the company dedicated to the Disney Princesses.  The Princess line has allowed itself to be flexible, so that it could include characters outside of fairy tales to fall under the same branding, especially if they are representative of other cultures.  That’s why you see Pocahontas included as a Disney Princess as well as Mulan, despite the fact that neither are royalty in their selective films.  Even Pixar’s Merida from Brave (2012) gets lumped in.  Whatever the reasoning behind each one’s inclusion, Disney’s Princess brand is a powerful one and they are eager to keep it growing, and with the release of their new film Moana, they have added a rather unique newcomer to their club.

Moana tells an original story derived from various legends told in various Pacific Island cultures.  It’s not the first time the company has chosen a setting like this for a movie, or used Oceanic people for their main characters.  However, that earlier film was Lilo & Stitch (2002), a contemporary story about native Hawaiians encountering a rambunctious alien creature.  It was a movie respectful of Pacific Island culture and people, but it only looked briefly into the cultural heritage of it’s characters and instead firmly put them in a modern, homogenized setting.  Moana, on the other hand, puts the culture and legends of it’s setting front and center.  And one thing that is reassuring about Disney’s track record with depicting other world cultures is that they do their research thoroughly in order to capture some authenticity with their depiction.  Sure, Disney does soften cultural traits in order to suit their corporate image (a process dubbed Disney-fication), but they do make their best effort to try to give each cultural group or race a fair place in their overall community.  Moana allows for the many cultures of the Pacific Islands to have their story presented to the world in the spirited Disney way, and the project comes from some top tier talent at the company.  The directors are long time veterans John Musker and Ron Clements, a successful duo at Disney for over 30 years whose credits include hits like The Little Mermaid, Aladdin (1992), Treasure Planet (2002) and The Princess and the Frog (2009).  Moana marks their first CGI feature, as well as their first in the Cinemascope format.  In addition to their legendary directors, Disney also tapped songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda to pen several new songs for the film, coming off recently from his mega hit Broadway show, Hamilton.  With strong names like these attached, you would expect that there are high hopes surrounding Moana.  But, is it another Disney classic, or not?

Moana sets itself on no specific island found in the Pacific Ocean, but instead portrays a portrait of traditional Islander life in a more classical age.  We meet Moana (voiced by Auli’l Cravalho) who is being prepped by her father, Chief Tui (voiced by Temuera Morrison), to be the next chieftain of their island village.  At the same time, Moana’s free-spirited grandmother Tala (voiced by Rachel House) indulges the girl’s desires to see what is beyond her island and gives her the knowledge of the histories and legends of her people.  Moana learns from her granny that many years ago, the Goddess of creation named Te Fiti had her heart stolen by a Demi God named Maui (voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson).  Upon escaping the island home of Te Fiti, Maui encountered a demon formed out of lava named Te Ka, who fiercly attacks him and causes Maui to drop both the Heart of Te Fiti and his magical fish hook, the source of all his power.  Without her heart, Te Fiti drains the life out of Islands throughout the ocean, and the web of decay has now reached Moana’s Island, causing the crops to die.  Despite her father’s stern warnings, Moana sets off alone to find Maui and force him return the heart stone to it’s rightful place.  By her side is the rooster Hei Hei (voiced by Alan Tudyk), and the ocean itself, which has a mind of it’s own, helping Moana along the way after it has chosen her specifically for the task.  Once Maui is found, the two set off on the journey which includes encounters with the Kakamora (coconut bodied pirates) and a gluttonous giant crab named Tamatoa (voiced by Flight of the Conchord’s Jemaine Clement).  Though she has the ocean as her ally, Moana still has to learn to navigate across the vastness of it, and it’s a quest that will test every ounce of her being, as well as show her exactly the person she needs to be.

Moana is a very pleasurable adventure from Disney, and feels right at home with all of their other animated features.  It is beautiful to behold, and is entertaining from beginning to end.  The only thing that I would say that keeps it from achieving all time classic status as a Disney feature is the fact that the movie more or less is a tad too familiar.  It’s not poorly told, nor does it do anything out of line that sours a good narrative; it’s just that I feel that it could have been just a little better if it took some more unexpected routes in the story.  I think this movie has the disadvantage of following in the wake of Zootopia, Disney’s early Spring release, which was a much more risk-taking film, making it one of the studio’s best efforts in years.  Moana by comparison just plays to more of what you would expect from Disney, and while that’s acceptable, it’s not really revolutionary either.  And, it seems to me that the filmmakers knew that going in too.  There are several jabs at Disney Princess cliches thrown at us within the movie, and they can be quite refreshing.  A particularly funny one comes from Maui halfway through where he points out how Princesses always carry around an animal sidekick with them.  But, even though the movie pokes fun at the cliches, it only reinforces your awareness that they are there, and the movie isn’t daring enough to try to avoid them.  But, even still, this movie is a thoroughly enjoyable experience.  I would even say among the Princess focused films, it’s the best we’ve seen from Disney since the Renaissance; yes even better than Frozen (which was just okay to me).  Cliched or no, you are not going to come away from this movie feeling like it’s a waste of your time.

Perhaps the film’s greatest strength is it’s characters.  In particular, Moana herself.  She is one of the best written and performed heroines to be found in the whole Disney canon, and it’s her journey that makes the whole film worthwhile.  While the journey itself can sometimes be cliched, the growth of Moana’s character is not.  I love the fact that the story foregoes the necessity of making her gender a factor in this story.  Moana is not trying to prove her worth as a girl in society nor is she trying to prove herself as a leader.  Those things are already established for her at the start.  She’s already taking her place as the ruler of her people before her journey begins.  Her growth as a character is more of a personal one of enlightenment, allowing her to discover the person she really is  and help her lose all self doubt that could prevent her from becoming a better leader.  This personal journey is what makes Moana far more interesting than the usual Disney Princess, who tend to not have internal conflicts define their characters.  Auli’l Cravalho does a fantastic job of voicing the character, capturing the spunkiness of youth, but also the depth of a girl burdened by the responsibility that she holds for her people as well as for herself.  Like most other culturally based films in the Disney canon, I applaud them for filling the voice roles with actors representative of those cultures, and Moana is no different.  Multiple Pacific Island ethnicities are represented in the cast, including Cravalho who is Polynesian, Dwayne Johnson who is half-Samoan, and both Temuera Morrison and Jemaine Clement who have New Zealander Maori ancestry.  It all brings a nice authenticity to the voices of these characters.  And the cast is universally strong throughout the movie.  Dwayne Johnson’s on-screen charisma translates surprisingly well into the character of Maui too.  And I especially loved the tender quirkiness of Rachel House as Moana’s grandmother.  Overall, each helps to make this another great addition of characters to the ever growing Disney family.

One thing that I’m sure a lot of people are going to take away from this film more than anything is the music.  Disney of course has left a huge mark on the classic Hollywood musical tradition, and Moana hopes to add it’s own contribution to the great Disney Songbook.  In order to capture the sounds of the Pacific Islander cultures, it seems unusual that they would select a Puerto Rican-American for the job, but it’s understandable when that person is the award-winning Lin-Manuel Miranda.  After completing one of the biggest Broadway blockbusters in recent memory with Hamilton, the timing couldn’t be much better for Disney to have new songs written for their film by this superstar.  And the songs he has co-written with Samoan musician Opetaia Foa’i have that nice mix of contemporary pop and authentic Oceanic cultural influence.  Thankfully, none of the songs here are going to be omnipresent earworms like Frozen’s “Let it Go,” but a few still stand out as catchy and memorable.  I think the real standout is “We Know the Way,” an epic centerpiece song about the history of the Oceanic wayfinders who founded so many of the cultures on the Islands of the Pacific, including Moana’s own.  It’s a song that evokes the same grandeur of a melody like The Lion King’s “Circle of Life,” and more than any other becomes the theme of the movie itself.  I also have a soft spot for the song “Shiny,” which is sung by Jemaine Clement’s Tamatoa.  It would have been a waste to not take advantage of combining the voice of the Flight of the Conchords with the writer of Hamilton, and thankfully Disney did not miss this opportunity.  It’s a great, gaudy tune that sounds like something Tim Curry would’ve performed in his Rocky Horror heyday, and it’s probably my favorite Disney Villain song in quite a long time.  Surprisingly enough, they managed to get Dwayne Johnson to sing in the movie, and while he’s a bit out of his league, I still give him credit for at least trying.  He’s more brave than I would’ve been.  Accompanied by a beautiful epic score by Mark Mancina, Moana‘s music does the Disney Songbook proud.

But apart from the cast and the music, the movie also has the benefit of looking absolutely gorgeous as well.  It’s a good thing this movie is being released in the wintertime, because audiences will feel like they’ve taken a refreshing summer vacation to the South Pacific after watching this film.  The movie puts so much rich detail into every shot of the movie, from the lush greens of Moana’s island, to the bright blues of the sun-drenched skies.  Character details are also pleasing to the eye.  I’m sure that many people are going to have fun examining all the different designs of Maui’s tattoos which cover his whole body, and which come to life through traditional hand drawn animation.  And while the recreation of life on the islands is richly detailed in itself, the movie also indulges in some eye-poppingly imaginative magical sights as well.  The Kakamoura pirates for example are a great, inspired creation; being both adorable and intimidating at the same time.  I also feel that their scene owes a lot of inspiration to George Miller’s Mad Max series; you’ll see why.  Also, the location of Tamatoa’s lair in Lalotai, the realm of monsters, gives the movie a nice surreal experience, where the production designers and animators clearly had a lot of fun coming up with a lot of out there visual ideas.  Apart from the visual design, the animation of the characters is also phenomenal, and shows just how comfortable Disney has gotten with the CGI medium.  Moana herself is elegantly designed, and full-figured which is a nice departure from the Barbie doll look of past Disney princesses.  There’s also some spectacular animation done on the demon Te Ka, making her feel like she’s authentically made out of molten lava.  Audiences will also be stunned by the beautiful way that the Ocean itself is brought to life, especially in an awe-inspiring introduction scene early in the movie, where a baby Moana walks among  ocean walls that have parted for her.  It’s a visual tour de force that lives up to the high Disney standard.

So, is Moana worth checking out this Thanksgiving weekend?  For any Disney fan or animation fan out there, it is absolutely worth seeing, and for the casual viewer, it will certainly be one of the best options out there too.  I do have minor misgivings about the overall story, but maybe it’s just my abnormally high standards with regards to Disney Animation.  It’s definitely on the higher end of the Disney canon, but just a hair short of being one of the all-time masterpieces.  Oddly enough, I think that Zootopia may have been the better Disney effort of the year, despite it’s less epic presentation.  It has to do more with how well the sum of every part works for each movie, and Zootopia just hit the mark more than Moana.  But, that’s not to say that Moana is a disappointment.  I had a good time watching the movie and was absorbed into the rich setting of it’s narrative.  It is spectacularly animated and full of rich characters.  I love the main heroes of Moana and Maui, both of whom will become favorite Disney characters for many fans young and old for years to come.  The songs in particular are what I consider the movie’s triumph; supportive of the story, but not overwhelming either.  I’ve had both “We Know the Way,” and “Shiny” stuck in my head for days now, so that’s a good indicator of how much an impression they’ll leave behind.  They also live up to the high standards of both Disney’s reputation and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s.  Anyone who is a fan of Hamilton owes it to themselves to hear Miranda’s work here as well.  This is also another strong addition to the legendary work of Musker and Clements, who have solidified their reputation as the Disney Studio’s most heralded film-making duo.  Hopefully it’s not their last collaboration, but if it is, then it’s a strong way to go out.  Despite feeling at times a tad too familiar, Moana is still a worthwhile animated feature and you’ll be well served finding your way to your local theater to see it.

Rating: 8/10

The fall movie season is well under way, but so far, the last few weeks have been pretty bare.  With only Clint Eastwood’s Sully being the one breakout hit since summer, movie audiences have been craving something big from Hollywood.  With Snowden, The Birth of a Nation, Inferno, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and The Girl on the Train all receiving tepid to outright terrible receptions, you have to wonder if it’s even worth it to release anything in the first couple months of Fall anymore.  At this point last year, we had already seen The Martian and Hotel Transylvania 2 hit big numbers, so you would think that now is a point this year that Hollywood is beginning to see some problems.  Thankfully, the second half of the Fall season is here and what better way to kick it off than a new film from the ever reliable Marvel Studios.  Marvel returns to the fall season for the first time since Thor: The Dark World (2013) with yet another film that seems like a big gamble for the studio.  After showcasing dynamic earthbound heroes with Captain America and Iron Man, as well as celestial heroes with Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel now brings us a different kind of flavor to their many interesting worlds, and that’s the realm of the mystical with their new movie, Doctor Strange.  Doctor Strange finally brings to the big screen a long time fan favorite in the comic book world and helps to place him within the larger Marvel stable that keeps growing larger every year.

Created by Steve Ditko in the 1960’s, Strange was definitely a product of his era.  Strange’s mastery of magic and the manipulation of the physical and metaphysical worlds fit well with the psychedelia of the time and made him an instant hit among comic book readers.  But, in the years since, Doctor Strange has been a hard character to sell to the public.  Because of his background in mystical arts, he didn’t quite fit in as a superhero worth investing in on the big screen, like say Superman or Batman, who better fit the action hero mold.  But fans of the comics long championed the character, and he has enjoyed a long history of popularity on the page, becoming a key member of Marvel’s Avengers line in the process.  With the creation of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU) in the last decade, it finally seemed like the right time to give Strange his time in the sun, but it would have to wait until Marvel’s Phase 3 to actually happen.  But, it’s here and now fans of the comics and casual viewers as well now have the opportunity to see if Doctor Strange is able to work on the big screen as well as his fellow heroes and if he’s another jewel in Marvel’s cinematic crown, or a serious misstep.  It all comes down to whether the character works off of the page and that largely is up to how well the character is cast and if the movie manages to convey the trippier aspects of his mystical realm; neither of which is an easy thing to pull off.  So, is Doctor Strange one more hit for the MCU or have they tampered with powers out of their control and fallen into a metaphysical spiral of their own making.

The movie introduces us to Doctor Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) a talented and successful surgeon from New York City, renowned for his steady hands that makes him exceptionally skilled with complex surgeries.  A car accident one night leaves him severely scarred and unable to use his hands the same way as before.  Seeing his livelihood disappearing before him, he seeks more experimental and unorthodox treatments to help restore his abilities and his search eventually brings him to a temple in Nepal where he has heard of miraculous healings being made.  There he meets a mysterious and powerful woman named The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who persuades the cynical Strange that the answers he seeks are not in traditional science, but in the art of the mystical.  Strange trains at the temple and learns how to use trans-dimensional magic to conjure up weapons for combat, open portals across great distances at will, and even manipulate the physical world around him.  He’s also given guidance by the loyal monk Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and the resourceful librarian Wong (Benedict Wong).  But, as his training goes on, he discovers that dark zealots of the same mystical arts are seeking to destroy the Ancient One’s protective temples, hoping to open up a gate to a dark realm where they’ll find immortality.  Led by the sinister Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), the zealots seek to destroy the Sanctums; sanctuaries built in great cities around the world to protect it from encroachment of the Dark Realm and it’s master Dormammu.  Strange soon learns that he is charged with protecting this realm and many others from total annihilation, and with powerful artifacts like the Cloak of Levitation and the time altering Eye of Agamotto, he soon learns that he just might have what it takes to become the Sorcerer Supreme.

The success of this film is by no means a certainty.  After many easy to comprehend heroes like Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, and Spider-Man, turning a Sorcerer who practices magic into a viable inclusion to this pantheon seems a little, well strange.  Luckily, Marvel has built up enough confidence through all of their big screen adaptations to try everything they can and thankfully it works spectacularly well here.  Doctor Strange is yet another solid effort by Marvel Studios, extending their winning streak even further.  What could have easily been a mismanaged translation from the page to the screen instead feels right in line with the rest of Marvel’s body of work.  And really, the biggest strength of the film is how well it introduces it’s concepts to the viewer.  Strange feels very fresh in the comic book genre of movies, because we have yet to see this kind of hero specifically carry his own film.  Instead of following the traditional urban action thrillers of the Avengers crew, or the space based adventures of the Guardians of the Galaxy, we learn about magic spells and inter-dimensional travel and the different possibilities found within the universe itself, and we watch as our hero goes from ordinary to extraordinary in ways we’d never expect.  It’s more complex a world than what we’re used to in comic book movies, and yet, the movie never bogs itself down in the details.  Instead, it builds it’s world carefully, revealing itself through the eyes of Strange, as he goes from amateur to expert.  And while we’ve seen much of this hero-building before, it’s never been presented in this kind of fashion, with mysticism at the forefront.  It indeed shows that magic has it’s rightful place within the MCU, along with mutant powers, super suits, and mythological Gods.

Speaking of which, if this movie has a like-minded companion in the collection of Marvel films, it would be the equally fanciful Thor.  And like Thor, a large part of what helps to make the more mystical elements of the film more digestible for the casual viewer is the relatable-ness and likability of the characters.  The casting of Chris Hemsworth as Thor helped to make his film a success, because of how well he was a match for the character, and Benedict Cumberbatch is exactly the same in the role of Steven Strange.  In some ways, the casting seems unusual for Marvel.  Before, they seemed more intent on casting unknowns or unexpected choices in their roles, helping the actors get the boost they need for their careers and cementing their image as the character.  With Cumberbatch, he’s already had a successful career, both in popular franchises and elsewhere, so joining Marvel’s stable was not really anything he needed.  Also, gaining such a familiar face might hurt the chances of him effectively leaving an impression on the character for years to come.  And yet, I can think of no one who could have played the part better.  His performance is what really grounds this movie, making him incredibly magnetic and yet sympathetic throughout.  He starts off as a smartass (much like Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark), but it never feels out of character, and it helps to humanize him too.  I also have to commend the make-up and costume departments for doing such a great job of recreating the iconic look of the character, even with such a distinctive face as Cumberbatch’s behind it all.  The other cast members such as Ejiofor, Swinton, and Mikkelsen are also great in the movie, and continue Marvel’s solid run of great casting choices.  The only one that gets short ended is Rachel McAdams as the, I guess love interest Christine.  She may have been pushed to the side for story purposes, and hopefully it’s something that is rectified in future sequels.  Also, the Cloak of Levitation itself becomes a character in the movie, and it amazes me how well Marvel can find personality in even a piece of clothing like it.

If the movie has any flaw, it would be in the story itself, which is more a less a bi-product of the unfortunate fact that this is yet another origin film.  We all know the routine by now; our hero is broken (either physically or mentally) and finds themselves at a crossroads, until they are suddenly granted new powers that enable them to extraordinary things, but are soon confronted by evil forces that challenge their strength and help our hero to learn that they must use their powers responsibly and for the good of the world.  I’ve just described for you pretty much the plot of 90% of all the Super hero origin films that have ever existed, and Doctor Strange is no different.  While it does do a fine job presenting the formula, it doesn’t add anything new to it either, and that unfortunately makes it feel all too familiar.  I could anticipate plot points in this movie before they even happened, like Strange’s crisis of faith towards the end of the second act, or the breakthrough moment he reaches at the end of the first.  The only subversion of the formula comes from the final act, when Strange is called upon to save the day.  I anticipated that he was going to win in the end, I just didn’t know how, and the way the movie resolved was blessfully surprising.  That’s not to say that you won’t be engaged in the story either.  The film is well paced and offers up plenty of clever plot threads here and there; the best coming from some of the clever action sequences.  But, because it plays it more safe with the formula, it becomes less interesting in the long run and prevents this from being one of Marvel’s absolute best, like the rule-breaking Guardians of the Galaxy.  But, it’s a flaw that doesn’t ruin the movie entirely and you’ll still enjoy it for the most part.  My hope is that with the origin out of the way, they can take more chances in the sequel.

One thing that I will praise highly of the film is the amazing visuals.  This may just well be the most visually impressive Marvel film to date, and that is saying something.  The magical spells are neat to look at enough, but it’s whenever the sorcerers begin to alter the physical realm around them, and turn the world itself on it’s head, that the movie really leave you with a sense of wonderment.  Think the movie Inception (2010), but done on a much more spectacular level.  The movie establishes the idea of a Mirror dimension, where the sorcerers can manipulate world physically without repercussion to the actual world, and that enables them to break the laws of physics in all sorts of ways.  There is a spectacular sequence halfway through the movie when Doctor Strange and Mordo are on the run from Kaecilius in the Mirror dimension, and the dark wizard hunts them down by warping the city of New York all around them, making skyscrapers bend and twist in all sorts of unnatural ways, creating a colossal kaleidoscope of the cityscape.  It’s a sequence that utilizes visual effects better than anything else I’ve seen this year, and really in a long while.  If this movie doesn’t walk away with an Oscar for it’s visual effects next year, I don’t know what will.  And yet, with all the trippy visuals on display, the movie never loses sight of the action.  There’s no Michael Bay level of chaos on display here; the action is as easy to follow as anything else, even with all the eye candy on display.  This is some of the best film-making I have seen from Marvel, and it shows that they still have some new tricks up their sleeve.  A lot of credit goes to director Scott Derrickson for managing such a complex presentation without losing focus on the characters and the story.  Believe me, a less assured director would have turned this into a complete mess.  Doctor Strange thankfully is neither a mess nor a failure.

So, it’s safe to say that Marvel has yet another solid effort to their credit, and Doctor Strange has earned a rightful place alongside his more well known peers on the big screen.  While the story feels a little too overly familiar, the movie does open up so many wonderful possibilities for the future.  An inevitable sequel will help solve some of the first film’s shortcomings, and I honestly can’t wait until Strange plays a larger part in the MCU going forward (by the way, stay during the credits for some extra scenes that tie into that).  It’s especially good to see someone of Benedict Cumberbatch’s talent and charisma within the role (and how well that could play out in the future with the character) and the amazing sense of scale that the filmmakers put into the film.  Visually, this is Marvel at it’s best, even if the plot itself is them on auto-pilot.  I also can’t ignore the complaints that this movie has garnered for the perceived white-washing of the character of the Ancient One.  While it’s a serious issue in Hollywood in general, I don’t think that this movie intentionally tried to change the character for that purpose.  While it’s an excuse that might not please every, the movie does address why the Ancient One is who she is, and it’s an explanation that, at least made sense to me.  Also, Tilda Swinton is such a great actress in the role, that it really doesn’t make you care too hard in the end.  I may not see the controversy in the same way, but it’s there nonetheless.  Hopefully, people will accept the choice for what it is and this controversy will not affect the movie in the long run.  Overall, it’s another great Marvel film, and a blockbuster that Hollywood desperately needs to get this Fall season back on the right foot.  It may not be perfect, but it does enough good stuff amazingly well, that it will leave your movie going experience quite magical in the end.

Rating: 8/10

Timing is an important thing for film releases.  Whenever a studio stakes a claim on a date, their hope is that the conditions are just right for the best possible exposure for their films.  Sometimes a movie has the disadvantage of being released at the wrong time, with outside influences clouding it’s exposure, such as a national tragedy or inclement weather.  But, for the most part, many films are given the right amount of exposure and it largely has to do with the types of movies they are.  Action movies and high concept fantasies typically release in the summer while prestige dramas are given the fall and winter, in anticipation of awards season the following year.  But even with these conditions, studios still want to avoid things that can sometimes be out of their control, such as controversies related to the movie or the people involved.  This is especially true when there’s a movie that Hollywood has high hopes for and yet still are aware that it can turn into a lightning rod for some people.  That seems to have been the recent case with the long road to the big screen for director and star Nate Parker’s new film The Birth of a Nation (2016).  The story of a slave revolt in the South during the pre-Civil War years became the most talked about film coming out of the Sundance Film Festival where it premiered.  It soon turned into a major story when it broke the record for the biggest sale ever made at the festival for one film, with Fox Searchlight paying $17 million for distribution rights.  In the wake of the “Oscar’s So White” controversy, The Birth of a Nation looked like the right film for Hollywood to have the socially aware, African-American centered awards front-runner they needed, but as we’ve seen, a lot can happen in a few months.

Since it’s Sundance premiere, The Birth of a Nation has enjoyed a good amount of exposure even before rolling out into wide release.  The film received a warm reception at the Toronto Film Festival where it also played, and it appeared that it was well on it’s way to being an early front runner for the upcoming awards season.  However, real life events have cast a cloud over the movie, affecting it’s reception just as the larger public is now able to watch it themselves.  Both are unfortunately negative factors.  The first, of course, are revelations of Nate Parker’s possible rape case from his days back in college.  He’s never been convicted, but his accuser took her life some years ago and the charges have been floating around ever since, only now becoming public, just as his career is beginning to take off.  Whether he’s guilty of the crime or not, it still is overshadowing the release of the movie, and may audience members are now confronted with having to try to separate the art from the audience, which is harder to do for some who take this issue very seriously.  The other thing that is affecting the release of this movie is the straight from the headlines stories of African-American men being killed by police officers who are using excessive force across the country.  This is affecting the movie differently from Nate Parker’s own controversies and makes it sadly prescient.  A lot will be talked about this movie in the weeks ahead, and more than likely, both narratives surrounding it’s release will either make or break this film at the box office.  But, now that it’s here for all of us to see, does it hold up to the hype surrounding it, or is it a whole lot of noise for something not all that extraordinary.

The Birth of a Nation tells the true story of Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave who has been raised to become a preacher for other slaves in the Antebellum South.  His Master, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer) sees Nat’s elegant sermonizing as useful for helping to keep the other slaves on his plantation cooperative and obedient.  When Samuel’s associate, Reverend Zalthall (Mark Boone Jr.), suggests that he should take Nat to other plantations to “spread his word,” Samuel sees a prime opportunity to bring extra income into his cash-strapped plantation.  Soon, he and Nat travel across the county to every nearby plantation, with Nat witnessing more and more horrific sights committed against the slaves by their masters.  Nat becomes increasingly torn, trying to reconcile what he’s learned all his life from the Turner family, and how it goes against everything his faith stands for.  He reaches a breaking point when his wife Cherry (Aja Naomi King) is brutally raped and beaten by a group of slave hunting mercenaries, led by the ruthless Raymond Cobb (Jackie Earle Haley).  This, in addition to Samuel’s increasingly demanding orders to exploit Nat for his cause, as well as all the other slaves, and Nat resolves once and for all to finally fight for his right to be a free man.  Along with his fellow rebellious slaves Will (Chike Okonwo) and Hark (Colman Domingo), and many dozens more, Nat’s small, bloody revolution begins to unfold and as a result, sends shock waves through the South and through history.  Many Southerners at the time have tried to silence the legacy of Nat Turner’s revolt, but thankfully now it’s coming back to light at a time when it needs to be remembered.

So, with a story this fascinating, and a message more timely than ever, this would appear to be a sure fire awards season favorite heading into the fall.  Unfortunately, this is also a movie where it’s ambition and it’s heart far exceed it’s execution.  Having finally seen it for myself, I can tell you that it is a fairly good movie, but only just that.  It’s not, for lack of a better word, revolutionary, nor is a failure either.  I think the main problem that I have with this movie is the uneven way it is presented.  What should have been stirring and visceral feels instead very muted and conventional.  It’s very clear that this is a movie made from a first time director.  The film is not poorly made, but you can feel the amateurishness of a storyteller who wants to tell a grand story, but is not quite comfortable with all the storytelling tools that are at his disposal.  But, even still, Nate Parker does show a lot of talent behind the camera, and there are several moments in the movie that do stand out.  However, any moment that does land is then undermined only scenes later with what I would call cinematic short-cuts.  There is a lot of heavy handed symbolism in this movie, and some of it is so on the nose that it will drive you crazy.  I think it would have served Parker better if he held off making this his first feature, and instead return to this story after having sharpened his skills on another feature, or maybe entrust his script to another director who has more experience.  This is a story that deserves the most assured kind of execution, and the fact that it falls short of it’s own ambition is an unfortunate result for such a noble effort.

The other negative that’s working against the movie is the inevitable comparison it’s going to have with the Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave (2013).  The Steve McQueen directed film touches upon many of the same issues and explores many of the same horrific moments that defined this dark era in American history.  But, where the comparison ends between the two is in their distinctive executions.  12 Years a Slave, also based on a true story, for the most part is a far more visceral and impactful film, mainly because it puts you the viewer into the middle of the horror, witnessing the events through the point of view of it’s subject Solomon Northup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), and it was unrelenting too.  The Birth of a Nation has its eye-opening moments of horror too (even something as quietly unsettling as a little white girl playing with a slave girl who is dragged along with a rope leash around her neck), but it restrains itself by sticking to a biopic convention when telling it’s story.  Where 12 Years a Slave was an experience, Nation just feels like a history lesson, albeit a very valuable one.  But for something that was meant to be incendiary and thought provoking, Birth of a Nation almost seems to hold it’s audience off at a distance.  It’s only until the finale where the revolt actually happens that we see signs of the kind of the kind of rage that Nate Parker wanted his movie to emulate, but to get there, the movie certainly takes it’s time.  That being said, it does do a lot right, even in some better ways than 12 Years a Slave.  The character development in this film is certainly stronger, albeit with a few stereotypical redneck-y bad guys thrown in there.  One can not fault Nate Parker for making this kind of movie so soon in the wake of the similarly themed 12 Years, but some of the shortcomings in his film only feel more pronounced when the comparison is made.

But there is still plenty to admire about this film.  First of all, Nate Parker does get strong performances across the board from all of his cast, and he himself manages to carry the film as well with his role.  I would say that Nate makes a better actor at this point in his career than a director, though he is not without skill there as well.  The character of Nat Turner is a challenging one to pull off, given the often grandiose sermons that he has deliver.  In most other actors hands, I believe the role could have slipped too heavily into pomposity, but thankfully Nate takes a more reserved approach that still feels right whenever he goes for those grandiose moments.  Some of the other performances are also strong.  Though her character is a little underwritten, Aja Naomi King’s performance as Nat’s long tortured wife is still a strong one that really earns your sympathy throughout.  Armie Hammer is also very strong in what ends up being the film’s most complicated role.  What interested me about this movie was how it depicted the slave owners who were masters over Nat and his family.  They are not the worst people in the world and at times they can even be sympathetic; until of course you remember the horrible institution that they are a part of.  Hammer conveys this perfectly in his performance; showing that even decent human beings could be a part of something evil just because it was so ingrained into society at the time.  I like that Nate Parker allowed for that kind of complexity with his characters, although there are some characters like Jackie Earle Haley’s Cobb that are a little too cartoonishly evil and rotten.  Despite some of the problems with how the characters are written, it is good to see the actors making the most of their roles; even those in minor roles like Mark Boone Jr. and Colman Domingo.  If there is anything that’s the movie’s saving grace, it’s definitely the cast.

What I’m sure most people are wondering about this movie is whether or not it’s message is going to resonate with audiences, and for some, spark them into action.  The timing for this movie couldn’t be more perfect as African-American populations are growing more frustrated with the lack of justice given to them after the increasing number of fatal police shootings have dominated the headlines.  A segment of our population being treated like second class citizens is going to find a lot of parallels in some of themes presented in The Birth of a Nation.  Of course, slavery and police brutality are two different issues, but what will resonate for audiences is the way that contemporary society takes a blind eye to their issues, which is reflected in the way that slavery was treated as an institution during the setting of the movie.  Nate Parker’s screenplay does not give a pass to compassionate, patronizing whites in his movie, as some of them are condemned heavily for perpetuating an institution that they know is unjust, and for saying that they know what is best for the slaves time and time again.  Parker’s most incendiary statement made in the movie is showing how scripture was used by many in those days to perpetuate the practice of slavery, with Nat Turner becoming a literal tool in that practice.  Though Turner himself was a man of faith, he sees the malice of his master’s plan and calls them out for it.  By spotlighting this, Nate helps to show the way religion can be mishandled to promote something diabolical, and that the same practices are used today to subjugate and oppress other disenfranchised groups; all making it the film’s most potent message.

One wishes that Nate Parker’s skills as a director could’ve been a little stronger in order to help make the message at it’s center resonate better.  Instead, we get a historical biopic about an important lost figure in American history that is certainly good, but could have been a lot better.  As it stands, it’s a very strong first film for a director with a lot of promise.  I certainly am interested in seeing what Nate will direct next; it might turn out much better, given that I’m sure he’s learned a few new things during the making of this film.  I also do have to admire the passion behind this movie.  You can tell this was a labor of love for him and for the most part it does succeed on shedding light on a piece of history that shouldn’t be a footnote.  But, even still, I can’t overlook the faults that this movie has too.  It’s awkwardly paced, thinly written, and doesn’t quite reach the heights that it’s trying to aim for.  Perhaps with more of a body of work behind him, Nate Parker could have made something truly groundbreaking with this movie, but you can’t fault him for wanting to quickly realize something that he believed in.  All this said, I don’t think you’ll find many people who will outright dislike this movie.  It’s conventional in a way that will please most audiences, though I’m sure there will be a few who don’t think that it went far enough with it’s message.  I for one admire that Nate took the risk to make this in the first place.  It only remains to be seen if the movie can stand outside the shadow of his own past misdeeds.  I believe that it did, but each other audience member will probably feel different.  I think this will fall short of awards season favorite that all the pre-release hype made it out to be, but it still is an honorable film-making effort that’s intent on sparking a conversation this nation desperately needs to have.

Rating: 7.5/10