Film Review: Emancipation on Apple TV+
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“Who is this for?” That’s the question I ask myself when I watch a TV show or film that tells some of the more violent parts of Black history. It’s certainly something I asked myself as I watched the new Apple TV Original by Antoine Fuqua.
Emancipation tells the story of an enslaved man named Peter - played by Will Smith - who discovers after being separated from his family, that Abraham Lincoln has declared all enslaved people be free. We follow him as he goes to extraordinary lengths to survive in the swamps of Louisiana on his way to Lincoln’s Army, and salvation, in Baton Rouge. The whole time he is tracked by overseer Jim - Ben Foster - and his blood thirsty hunting dogs.
And when I say we follow him, what I mean is that from start to finish this film doesn’t hide anything. It is based on a true story, as told by an enslaved man named Gordon, upon his arrival in Baton Rouge, and this plays out as if you were there with him. As I watched the extremes of the violence, and heard the language, and sat in my discomfort I asked again “who is this for?”
The other thing I thought was “How is this, mentally, to be Black people creating this film?” because there’s no way that can be easy. Will Smith’s performance in this film is extraordinary, and it seems inevitable that we’re going to be seeing a lot of his name next to “Nominee for Best Actor in a Leading Role” when awards season rolls around. In fact, he’s my clear winner for the Best Actor Oscar. But to deliver a performance that good, in a film this rooted in Black pain, it has to hurt the soul. I didn’t get to ask Will, but when I spoke to director Antoine Fuqua after the screening, he told me it was “incredibly painful every day on set,” which again makes me question “Who is this film for?”
It was about 2 days after the screening that I realised the answer. It’s based on a true story. It’s not just a “slavery film”, it’s a film that tells the true story of fight, grit, resilience, love, anger, strength, softness, fear and relief that Gordon went through. And Gordon is one of millions. Who is this film for? It’s for them. It’s for our ancestors, if like me you were born still carrying the name forced upon them. Our ancestors who went through absolute hell so that I might sit here, a Black woman, having been invited to a private premiere of a Hollywood movie made by Black people, and write my thoughts on it for a willing audience. Many of whom are also Black people. We stand here, achieving what they couldn’t even dream of, on the back of what they did, and films like Emancipation reach out across time and say “We haven’t forgotten, we don’t take it for granted, we feel you, we will tell your story.”
Emancipation will be available to stream on Apple TV Plus from December 9th.