A United Kingdom (2017) Review!!!

Synopsis – The story of King Seretse Khama of Botswana and how his loving but controversial marriage to a British white woman, Ruth Williams, put his kingdom into political and diplomatic turmoil.

My Take – A film based on a true story, produced by BBC films & starring two brilliant actors in the lead, am I in for a treat? Unfortunately, this important politically charged drama and emotional true story is one of those films that is flying under the radar and deserves to be seen. With today’s proliferation of true-story-based films, not only the film makers, but even the general audience appreciates the challenge of striking a good balance between staying with the facts and enhancing them with dramatization. Fortunately this Amma Asante directed film has immense potential involved and manages to accomplish this balance, while leaning more towards caution than flair. Based on the true-life relationship between Sir Seretse Khama, an African chieftain from a former Bechuanaland Protectorate, and a white British woman, Ruth Williams, the film implies that he was the King of Bechuanaland, but in fact no single individual ever held this position; Khama was the ruler of the Bangwatho, one of a number of tribes making up the Tswana nation, the largest ethnic group in the country. In Botswana, as Bechuanaland is now known, Khama and Ruth are today revered figures, as he was the leader of the country’s independence movement and its first President when independence was achieved in 1966; unlike most other former colonies in Africa Botswana has remained a democracy ever since, and their eldest son is the current President. Admittedly, this kind of story has a fair few potential traps with the themes displayed, being very difficult to get the right tonal balance and to get it completely right & the film could easily have been preachy and over-sentimental with any messaging laid on too thick, any feel-good-factors coming over as corny, characters being one-dimensional and too black and white and the sentimentality being too hard to stomach. Luckily, almost all of those traps are avoided, making this painful, hopeful and loving chapter of African history, a truly absorbing and moving film.

The story follows Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo), an African university student in 1947 London who during a local dance meets and later falls in love with Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), a local Londoner working clerical at an insurance company. However due to rise in post-war racial tension, Seretse is recalled from Oxford to assume his hereditary throne as King of Bechuanaland (now Botswana), but before departing he unexpectedly proposes to Ruth, which she without hesitation accepts and agrees to go back with him to his home country as his wife. The marriage is met with dissent from all fronts: family, Seretse’s people and Great Britain, who is mostly concerned with appeasing its ally South Africa and the growing notion of Apartheid. The main problem arises when Tshekedi Khama (Vusi Kunene), Seretse’s uncle and regent of the Bangwatho Kingdom and Ella Khama (Abena Ayivor), Tshekedi’s wife and Seretse’s aunt decide to renounce their support to Seretse , which the self-interested British rule use as an opportunity to send in Sir Alistair Canning (Jack Davenport) and Rufus Lancaster (Tom Felton) to do everything in their power to prevent the couple from assuming their rightful throne as King and Queen. However, when diamond deposits are discovered by an American mining company, the nation hopes for a better life for its people but Britain has other priorities and keeps manipulating the couple’s life to their own will, until they decide to fight back with every means possible, including dissolving Seretse Khama right to throne and turning the country towards democracy. The action switches between an austere, drab post-war Britain and a bright sunlit Africa. The first half of the film shows the couple meeting and falling in love, while the second half shows the white racism that existed to a black / white relationship and the black African culture that responds to a potential white queen. What a difficult situation at a delicate period in history. One of the things I liked in the beginning of this film is that we see them meet, have a nice time and go dancing and the White people dancing in the background are Not staring at them nor giving them a hard time. I wish all the world would be like that when a man and woman of different races and skin tone meet, date and fall in love. There are two stories intertwined in this film and for it to work both have to be self-sustaining and in balance. A love story inside a political drama is not an easy mix, but excellent directing keeps both stories working together to produce an engaging and inspiring film. It also shows that great moments in history are made up of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. In its sweet simplicity, the romance between Khama and Ruth Williams captures the fancy of the audience, starting with the first glance, the catalyst of jazz, the mutual recognition of each other’s intelligence and spirit and, needless to say, the ever-elusive ingredient “chemistry” that Oyelowo and Pike deliver with easy charm. In the culminating proposal scene when he proffers the ring but asks her to take some time to think about it, Pike is at her best when she replies “I don’t need any time to decide”. While every single one of the touching moments – from the tender yet resilient love, to the agony of enforced physical separation, to the glory of childbirth, to the heart-warming reconciliation and forgiving, to the climatic upbeat triumphant conclusion – will be unfailingly anticipated by the audience, they are delivered so nearly pitch-perfect that you will still experience that lump in the throat and mist in the eye. Director Amma Asante shows how much resistance change can face – and overcome.

Their marriage becomes a set of lens for the viewer to analyze strength and frailty confined in this tiny world full of hope. A highlight is the emotional “I love my people” speech, which is where the prince addresses a crowd to stake his case for why he should be king and why they should accept his white wife. What’s good about this film is that it’s made me angry at what a Government, such as the British, did to a nation and their rightful rulers, making me feel almost ashamed for not being aware of this incredible story. It’s good to find a film that can influence you and better still, change your perspective of an ideal or something you would otherwise believe in. But in that same vein, it’s warming to know not everyone is the same, and are prepared to shout against the oppression. It’s an amazing example, if not symbolic of how powerful one can be, and is almost a reflection of our current affairs, which should beg us to question the current leaders of world. Director Amma Asante is obviously very passionate about the subject of this film, and here, we feel Asante‘s passion for racial equality, and social justice. In the hands of a lesser director than the hugely talented Amma Asante, the film might have been nothing more than another inter-racial romance cloaked in a veil of sickly sentimentality (like the over rated Loving) but, this remarkable film works both as a genuinely moving love story but, more significantly, as a powerful political tract that draws attention to a very shameful period in recent British history. While not all the script works, much of it is intelligent and thought-provoking, never taking on too much of a heavy-handed tone while making its point clearly, having much to say about the conflicts and explores and balances them with skill and the over-sentimentality never obviously creeps in. Films like this one are incredibly tricky to nail perfectly. At their core, they lie firmly in the kind of romantic-drama genre that invites scene after scene of soppy reunion or declaration of undying love. Yet, they tackle big themes and take on powerful true stories, meaning that they must find a way of portraying this story adequately while still pleasing fans that come for the genre rather than the narrative, it’s a balance that, when struck seamlessly, has the ability to create something truly memorable, but just a few minor slip ups in the wrong places can cause any film of this nature to come crashing down. In its earlier moments, and in a variety of other particularly notable sequences across the film, director Amma Asante strikes the balance with a deft precision that had me feeling like this could wind up as one of the year’s very best, unfortunately as things progress the script starts to lose minor grip on this tightrope and a frustratingly high number of minor quibbles bubble to the surface and just force the film away of greatness. Plus, so many scenes abruptly end right as the substance is beginning. Multiple times we are left hanging, wondering why we don’t get to finish a conversation or finalize a conflict. The set locations are brilliant, superbly shot and well paced and balanced, giving great contrast between London and Serowe. London being the cold yet majestic, revered city that she is and Serowe being hot, yet vibrant and welcoming. Here, David Oyelowo plays Seretse with towering dignity and passionate sensitivity, his speeches very moving in a gut-wrenching and powerful sense. Rosamund Pike, fresh from her exceptional career-best performance in the brilliant ‘Gone Girl‘, gives one of her best performances and certainly more than just eye-candy (being one of the most naturally gorgeous actresses today), playing Ruth with calmness, sensitivity and commanding steel. Jack Davenport makes for a slimy diplomat, and Tom Felton is surprisingly effective and a long way from lightweight. On the whole, ‘A United Kingdom’ is a fascinating story that despite its minor issues is well told, well acted and has some terrific cinematography.