Amazing Grace (2006)

“God sometimes does His work with gentle drizzle, not storms. Drip. Drip. Drip. ” – John Newton

Number of Times Seen – 1 (25 Nov 2015)

Brief Synopsis – Retelling of the fight in England’s Parliament to stop the slave trade at the beginning of the 1800’s.

My Take on it – This is a movie recommended to me by my good friend SG Liput of Rhyme and Reason and it has taken me too long to finally see this very inspirational and moving movie.

As a history buff, I quite often enjoy historical biopics no matter how accurate they may be.

This is a perfect example; I learned after seeing this that there are many inaccuracies, but I guess that’s why they usually say that movies like this are “inspired by real events” and not that it is a word for word account of what actually happened.

The story itself is one that I personally had never known about and was pleasantly surprised at how enlightening it was for me to learn about the details that surrounded this important debate in England more than 50 years before it reached America.

The cast is great and is led by Ioan Gruffudd who is a very under-rated and talented actor.  A little known actor (at the time) named Benedict Cumberbatch plays his best friend, the Prime Minister of England William Pitt.

It was great seeing how Parliament works during these kind of debates and from my limited knowledge on the subject, it seems that it the way thinks work there hasn’t changed much in the 200 years since.

I am extremely glad that I finally got around to watching this movie and the title song adds such depth and inspiration to the story itself.

Bottom Line – Great inspirational story that I personally was very happy to learn the details about (Even if it isn’t completely accurate). Excellent cast led by the very talented and underrated Ioan Gruffudd. Thrilling to see how Parliament works in these kind of situations and from what I’ve heard things are quite similar even now, 200 years later. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – A special screening of the film was shown in Buncrana, Co. Donegal in Ireland. This was in celebration of John Newton’s link with the county, when in 1748 his slave ship, the Greyhound, came ashore after surviving a terrible storm. This event began the spiritual journey for Newton, which culminated in his authorship of the song, Amazing Grace. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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