Endgame (2009)

Admirable film.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It's 1985 South Africa. Public affairs director of Consolidated Goldfields Michael Young (Jonny Lee Miller) sneaks into a township looking for people to secretly negotiate with. Eighteen months later in London, he makes contact with ANC Head of Information Thabo Mbeki (Chiwetel Ejiofor). He is stalked by government agents as he tries to convince Professor Willie Esterhuyse (William Hurt) to join in the effort. Head of intelligence Dr. Neil Barnard (Mark Strong) meets Nelson Mandela (Clarke Peters) in prison. Company head Rudolph Agnew (Derek Jacobi) finances the secret meetings but will deny any knowledge of Michael's plans if discovered. In 1988 Somerset, England, the group gathers to negotiate in a palatial estate.This is a drama of an important moment in history. The first half hour has great tension as Michael scrambles to organize this negotiation. The suspense is mostly lost once the group gathers at that mansion. The outcome is never in doubt. The actors are strong and they keep it watchable.

Director Pete Travis, who has attempted to make a name for himself by his "just sort of experimental" approach to filmmaking, is at it again with Paula Milne's Endgame. This time the objective appears to have been to shoot a full dramatization of actual events in a style much like those featured in PBS documentaries and bill it as a film suited for action-seekers. And with that in mind, the film's title is perhaps more a warning to audiences than anything else. Basically, if you're the kind of person who enjoys attending random chess tournaments featuring professional players whose names you probably forget before checkmate, there is a slight chance that you'll enjoy this film. Otherwise, you'll likely find yourself impatiently waiting for the end of the game. Somewhat to its credit, the portrayal seemed to be historically accurate, perhaps for the sole consideration that nothing incredibly unbelievable was depicted. The film, loaded with dialogue that would seem to neither advance the plot nor develop its characters, was overall excruciatingly slow-paced, offering audiences very little reward for all the wait. And to finally cement one's overwhelming sense of disappointment, Endgame's conclusion is regrettably just as anticlimactic as the film's most intense scenes (such as the "car chase" which is about as exhilarating as overtaking a farmer on a rural road). Though some themes seem to hint at the filmmakers' desire to offer new approach to the medium, this film was nothing groundbreaking.

Shot in a manner very resonant of Frost/Nixon with outstanding editing Endgame is a fittingly unsentimental and very nicely played drama of the last days and brinkmanship of the apartheid negotiations in South Africa.With competent performances from all involved this is not overacted but rather relies on the relationships and the materials. Cutting between South Africa and the UK it tells the story of the two sides: the Afrikaans government on the one, and the ANC and Pan-African parties on the other. How they came to find a path in what was probably the most volatile of all post-colonial politics to not lead to civil war is the story. Through the efforts of an Afrikaans philosophy professor (William Hurt) and a British troubleshooter for the gold mines (Johnny Lee Miller, who is in excellent form, less manic suits him very well indeed) the players first arrange to meet, meet, and work through the issues. Filmed in South Africa (A lot of outdoor shots) and the UK, this has more story than you'd think on first sight. It has some action scenes, but in the main it is a nicely poised political drama.The film scores points for exceptional use of camera and again I have to mention the editing which is outstanding: rarely missing a beat and playing its focus on both the players and the reactions this is a first-class lesson is how film editing can make the story better and worth watching on that basis alone if film-making is your thing.For those of us who remember the marches, the cause, and Mandela walking through the prison gates with Winnie, this films not only gives meat to the bones of the background to that history; it is evocative without being sentimental.This is a film that needed to be made; and I for one wish that we could see more of this ilk - it is a strong reminder of the best that humans are capable of.

The end of the hated Apartheid regime in South Africa is an uplifting story, but also, as told in this drama-documentary, an oddly undramatic one. There was no revolution, nor even a commitment to reform from within. Instead, as the system became increasingly untenable on the ground in the face of growing popular unrest, a series of unofficial negotiations between prominent Afrakaaners and the opposition were eventually endorsed by F.W. de Klerk shortly after his appointment as leader of the country, in a tacit acknowledgement that he had run out of other options. Undramatic maybe, but this is still a worthy retelling of the mechanics of the process. It's surprising to see Thabo Mbeki, later much criticised as a later south African leader when he denied that H.I.V. causes A.I.D.S., portrayed here in such a positive light. William Hurt is completely convincing as an Afrikaaner, while 'Wire' veteran Clarke Peters captures the essence of Nelson Mandela with a delicate performance . There's an element of hagiography in the film's treatment of the men who negotiated, but it is justifiably an uplifting story, especially in the knowledge of how, in the main, Mandela has managed to justify his status as virtual deity since his release; and how, for all its continuing problems, South African society has not collapsed with democracy.