Ignoring the salacious headlines that have plagued the film, The Birth of a Nation is a powerful experience. There is attention to detail here that adds a lot to the film and you can tell it was made with great passion behind it. This isn’t a film merely made to entertain. You can tell that director, writer & star, Nate Parker, has poured his heart and soul into this project and we feel his sincerity in presenting the story in the best possible way.
At the center of The Birth of a Nation is Nat Turner’s Rebellion, a slave revolt that took place in Southampton County, Virginia during August 1831. Casualties were between 55 and 65 whites killed and at least three times as many African Americans lawfully hanged and/or lynched in the aftermath. The depiction of the rebellion comprises the film’s truly powerful final third. The rest of The Birth of the Nation chronicles Turner’s life before he started his rampage.
Parker’s account of the events is all about perspective. In The Birth of a Nation, Turner (played by the director) is presented as a humble and decent human being. He’s a preacher who seeks to comfort other slaves but eventually he becomes increasingly disillusioned about how his oratorical skills are being used to quell rebellious impulses. When he turns against the local populace of landed whites, it is a moment of justifiable retribution. Another film, however, might see things a bit differently but the power of the film lies in Parker’s ability to convince us that Nat Turner’s Rebellion isn’t a mindless massacre of innocents but a legitimate retaliation against inhuman and vile acts.
The early scenes show us a snapshot of the day-to-day activities on a cotton plantation during the 1820s. The white owners are presented as decent people who care about the well-being of their slaves. As a child, Nat is brought into the house by Mrs. Elizabeth (Penelope Ann Miller) to learn to read and write. He plays hide-and-seek with the plantation owner’s only son, Samuel. Skipping ahead a decade, Samuel (played by Armie Hammer as an adult) is now the master of the land and Nat has become a preacher. The relationship between the two childhood friends is closer than that of many owners and slaves, but the division is always obvious. Nevertheless, Samuel allows Nat a fair amount of freedom, including marriage to Cherry (Aja Naomi King), a girl who lives and works on a nearby plantation. But Samuel has his share of problems which includes being in deep debt, lacking the backbone to stand up to those with less charitable views than his an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. All of these things results in an unforgivable act of “discipline” that poisons his relationship with Nat and results in the Rebellion.
Nate Parker, in regards to this film, is a master of manipulation. This isn’t meant as an insult but as a compliment of his abilitities to pull us into the story and puts squarely on Turner’s side. The Birth of a Nation portrays the institution of slavery as a rotten practice but its practitioners aren’t painted with black-and-white brushstrokes. The people are nuanced and have layers even if the circumstances don’t share those qualities. When it comes to the rebellion, we cheer on Nat’s actions even though they include murder. Usually I would find myself a bit uncomfortable cheering on such actions in film but this is the hold that Parker has over the audience. The goal of any film, especially about historic events, is to make you feel the magnitude of the story its telling. The Birth of a Nation has you in its hold from start to finish.
I want to end this review by saying this is a film you should see. I know that Nate Parker’s real life drama has tainted the film for some but if we’re simply just grading his art, he has made a gripping and compelling drama that has something to say. A lot of people were involved in the making of this film and the alleged actions of one should not make you avoid seeing a movie that offers you a true cinematic experience that makes you think.
