Nate Parker's Controversial "The Birth of a Nation", Though Powerful, Lacks the Artistic Finesse of Better Slave Narratives

     
 

   Nate Parker's directorial debut The Birth of a Nation is one of the toughest films I have tried to review. I watched it last night and I have been pondering about it ever since. Slave movies are difficult to review, because the social aspect is just as important as the production aspect of the film, and you never want to come off as a bigot when all you want to do is share an honest opinion about a piece of entertainment. In the end, despite the political or social ramifications this highly controversial film garnishes, I'm going to approach this from a standpoint more focused on the entertainment value and less about my own political mind frame.

   The film portrays the story of Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially-strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat's preaching to subdue unruly slaves while making a profit off of his preaching. As he witnesses countless atrocities - against himself, his family and his fellow slaves - Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom. The movie is equally moving and beautiful as it is brutal and barbaric. I don't know a lot about the story of Nat Turner, but what I do know is that history portrays him as a much more morally complexed individual as the film would want you to believe. There is in-your-face symbolism and heavy-handed moments that make Nat out to be this symbolic Christ for the slaves of the time. There really isn't much character development with Nat; his arc is more of a line, really. He's presented as this all-around good guy that ends up leading one of the most barbaric and bloody revolts in American history, but shows no remorse or really any emotional development by movie's end. It's a truly interesting juxtaposition and character and moral standing.

   The acting in the film is all-around pretty good. Parker wears many hats, writing, directing, producing, and starring, and manages to do a pretty decent job. At times I felt there was some over-acting going on, as if instead of acting for the sake of the story, they were acting for an Oscar. It just seemed a bit forced and heavy-handed at times, is what I'm really trying to say. Sprinkled within, however, there are moments that are truly beautiful, both from Parker and from the remaining cast. This film has been a sort of passion project for Parker and you can see the love poured into the work when he's on screen. Parker probably gives the best performance of the bunch, but in reality there really isn't anyone on screen that seems to phone it in. Dealing with this type of material, I think there's always this level of respect embedded within it, and the actors across the board do a fine job of honoring that in their honest portrayals.

 
    As an overall production, there are moments that are really beautiful, but it constantly has this feel of wanting to be more than it is. It's as if this movie was trying to be Braveheart but ended up being The Patriot; both great movies, but one is an Oscar-winning Best Picture superior in every way, and the other is really an homage. With fantastic slave narratives released recently, like 12 Years A Slave, The Birth of a Nation I feel strives to be like it, but falls short in its effort. The reason being, for me, is that the overall message gets lost in its heavy-handed delivery. I experienced this film while being the only white individual in the auditorium (there were only like six people total in the auditorium), and as the movie progressed, I heard many comments being made behind me about how this movie reflects social aspects today. I was honestly disturbed when as the brutality of the revolt commenced, I was the only one in my area of the auditorium not cheering. I whole heartily agree that racism is still an issue in America, and I also believe that there are positive and negative ways to combat it. The Birth of a Nation has been herolded as both a breath-taking look at America then and now, as well as anti-white propaganda that perpetuates violence. Which way it leans is entirely up to the viewer. Do I think that this movie is telling an important story? Yes. However, I think it lacks the depth and artistic touch that other slave narratives, like 12 Years A Slave or Roots for that matter, ultimately possess.

   If you're debating whether or not to see this movie, I will say this: the movie is viscerally violent, emotionally-charged, and historically relevant, despite its embellished telling. Its controversy is the fruit of its labors. If it gets people talking about issues of the day, or at least thinking about them, then it did its job. When all is said and done, The Birth of a Nation is still just a movie, and political or social mindsets aside, I was engaged throughout and was moved at times. Nate Parker took on an ambitious project for his first directorial outing, and he does a pretty good job overall. I recommend seeing the movie before casting judgment on its intended purpose, like so many people do.