Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013)

Very well executed

Such a frustrating disappointment

Excellent but underrated film

Excellent adaptation.

What is there better then a biography of an historical charismatic person like Nelson Mandela? Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom is an excellent movie. Very touching sometimes, I had to fight the tears a couple of times in this movie. The injustice black people had to endure during those years of white supremacy are disgusting and hard to watch. The fact that Nelson Mandela never gave in and never gave up the fight for his people makes him one of the men I respect the most. Being unjust imprisoned for such a long time of his life, treated worse then an animal, and never giving up, staying strong with dignity makes him stand above all those disgusting boeren and white supremacists. The whole movie is filmed beautifully with sometimes a couple of images from the archives that makes it even more interesting to watch. For sure one of the better movies I watched this year, or even decade.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is a film that's certainly sincere, well-intentioned and does make for a good tribute to the life of Nelson Mandela, especially with such a charismatic lead in Idris Elba. There's also a good feeling for the sixties during the early parts of the film, where Mandela, as a young lawyer in South Africa, trains, marries, cheats on his wife and becomes involved in politics through his position as a lawyer. Unfortunately, some events and people are written so thinly that we barely get to appreciate much that's going on around Mandela, as his presence is so very central to the story that other characters become one dimensional or quickly skimmed over as the story leaps forward almost episodically. Elba was certainly well cast as Mandela, whom he plays with strength, conviction, sincerity and with the physicality of the man, both bodily and verbally. When he speaks, it's with truth and a real sense of integrity. This is matched by the spark in Naome Harris's portrayal of Winnie Mandela, whose character isn't brilliantly written, but does provide a contrast with Madeba and opportunity to focus the narrative elsewhere. This soon adds touches of poignancy when Mandela is incarcerated on Robben Island and the emotions of husband, wife, father and mother become present amidst the racial turmoil. But with so much scope and ambition in a story that spans several decades, it's credit to the performances and the intention of the film that it does make an emotional connection. And whilst the final act is a more stately affair, with the employment of vintage footage adding both filler and a touch of realism, it's Elba who continues to engage as the elder Mandela, even if his tremendous physicality occasionally betrays him. And whilst this was a commendable project made with sincere intentions, it's Elba who holds the film together and makes up for the shortcomings of a narrative that's too by the numbers.

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I initially thought Idris Elba was a strange choice to play Nelson Mandela, arguably the greatest person of the 20th century. Thankfully Elba is just magnificent here, and although his physical likeness is never quite there his mannerisms and voice was spot on.The film itself does a good job of cramming this incredible story into 2 hours without omitting anything too consequential. It's pretty much all here, starting with a race through Mandela's childhood onto his career in law and first marriage. Then the film really gets into gear with his introduction to the ANC, his marriage to Winnie, his bombing campaigns, eventual capture, imprisonment and the soul destroying years spent on Robben Island. Well I say soul destroying, maybe for me as a viewer, but not for the remarkable Mandela, who didn't bow, bend or crack under this incredible pressure.Some of the scenes in Robben Island are utterly heart breaking, particularly when Mandela is told his first born son has died in a car accident, and is denied the opportunity to attend the funeral or grieve in any meaningful way. Elba is astonishing here, you can feel his pain so acutely you almost want to look away.The final third of the movie deals with Mandela's negotiations with the government and his eventual release, and this is maybe where the film falls slightly flat. The monumental events unfolding are underplayed and slightly underwhelming. Still, it's a very enjoyable movie and Elba really shines here.

'Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom' tilts occasionally in the direction of political hagiography, but given the nature of it's remarkable protagonist, that is hardly surprising. For all that, Idris Elba proves his acting chops is a wonderfully nuanced and always believable performance. The relationship between Nelson and Winnie Mandela is nicely handled: the sweet young social worker embracing hatred and violence in response to her treatment at the hands of the Apartheid regime set in contrast to Nelson's advocacy (moral, but also politically pragmatic) advocacy of peace and reconciliation. The underrated Naomie Harris goes some way to humanising an often demonised figure as Winnie Mandela...but it is still very much Mr Elba's show.