Antebellum was such a letdown. This film had so much potential only to be squandered by a lack of execution. The premise promised so much that we didn’t get. The marketing for this team deserves a round of applause and a raise because ever since that first trailer dropped, it was one of my most anticipated films.
Sean McKittrick produces the film, and it was honestly a smart move on the marketing’s part to advertise his work with Jordan Peele’s Us and Get Out.
To a casual moviegoer, they’ll see that and think Jordan Peele is involved somehow and expect something close to Peele’s two prior masterpieces, which this doesn’t even remotely get close to being on the same level.
The film follows successful author Veronica Henley played by Janelle Monáe, who finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality while she tries to uncover a mind-bending mystery before it’s too late.
Antebellum started strong with an incredibly powerful scene matched with a great score in the background. It’s one of the best locations any film has had this year. Unfortunately, it’s pretty much all downhill after that from a story and filmmaking perspective. The film has a hard time trying to get its point across, lacking substance at times, or not delivering it to its audience the way the filmmakers intended.
Antebellum is labeled a horror film, but best believe this is far from one. It barely even classifies as a psychological thriller. It is merely a thriller that tackles racism and slavery in America in the past around the time of the Civil War and in the present day. I’ll admit, despite my issues with the film, it does it in a significant way. Whether it is the past or the present, racism and oppression are prevalent throughout the movie. It’s a film that feels very timely with its themes on how racism is still a problem in the world today. Antebellum will anger some viewers because certain events in the film will anger anybody with a heart.
Antebellum suffers from an identity crisis, not being too sure what it wants to be, not to get into spoilers, but the film’s twist is so laughable. Did I roll my eyes like really? It angered me so much, and if you pay close attention, you can spot it pretty early on. Antebellum is a film that tried being too smart for its good. I can appreciate and respect a complicated movie. I enjoy those but not ones that try telling their story in a manner when there isn’t one.
The film is written and directed by the duo of Gerard Bush and Christopher Renze in their first film, and it shows. Antebellum was a messy film that came off amateurish and like the work of first-timers. They seem to be a duo that can make a great hook but need more time to execute it properly. The twist I spoke of earlier was a disservice to the film, only making it get messier and making the point they were trying to make unclear. The film begins with a quote: “The past is not dead, it’s not even the past.” A character repeats this later on in the movie, and I honestly never understood its purpose or meaning by the film’s end. If it was meant to have one, these rookie filmmakers surely didn’t get that point across to me.
The dialogue is terrible during the scenes in the present. We follow Veronica and her friends on a night out, and we are supposed to believe they are educated women. Still, you couldn’t tell by how they talk or presented themselves. They come off more like posers with some money who want to fit in with the higher class people.
The film’s actual saving grace would have to be, as previously stated, its incredible opening scene and its powerful ending, along with Janelle Monáe. She is fantastic, delivering a powerhouse performance in her first proper leading role. I’ve been a fan of her previous work in Moonlight and Hidden Figures (feeling that this role deserved a Supporting Actress nomination over Octavia Spencer), and I’m glad she got this opportunity to lead a movie. I wish it had been in a better one. Rest assured, the film’s failures have nothing to do with her performance. She’s the only reason I would even attempt to recommend this film to anybody because she genuinely gives it her all in a somewhat dual performance.
The film has a pretty solid supporting cast, but they are all wasted. The film features such talented folks as Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe, and Jena Malone, and they weren’t given much to do, which is a shame as some were playing roles that, if fleshed out a bit more, could have helped the quality of this film. We’ve seen all these actors do better work when they are working with a better script, and this is just truly a missed opportunity as they could have delivered something special.
I’m a big champion of the theatrical experience, having already seen Tenet in theaters despite us being in a pandemic, but this is one film that was 100 percent better off on VOD. It doesn’t feel like one worthy of the big-screen treatment. Antebellum was better suited for this release route or as a Netflix original. It’s easily one of the year’s biggest disappointments in almost every way imaginable.
