Tensions run high in African drama
A UNITED KINGDOM Running time: 1hr49min Starring: David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Jack Davenport, Tom Felton, Charlotte Hope, Laura Carmichael, Jack Lowden, Nicholas Lyndhurst Director: Amma Asante THE HUBBUB surrounding an African prince’s marriage to an Englishwoman becomes a rousing love story and a triumphant call to justice in A United Kingdom.
Based on Susan Williams’s book Colour Bar, it is a remarkable tale not only because it’s a true story, but one where a romance influenced the outcome of British and African history.
Overcoming some initial uncertainty and shallowness, this third feature by British director Amma Asante ( Belle) finds its stride through the efforts of its very on-key actors David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike.
Oyelowo, who memorably portrayed American leader Martin Luther King jr in Selma, assumes the sceptre of royalty as the young Seretse Khama, a prince in the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland, (later Botswana) and then his country’s first democratically elected president. While studying law in London, Seretse falls deeply in love with Ruth, a simple office worker he meets at a dance.
A foretaste of the racial tension that awaits them is offered by some brawlers on a dark street, and by Ruth’s father, who washes his hands of her when he hears of their engagement. But when they blithely fly off to Bechuanaland, a povertyand disease-stricken land of flat plains and red dust, the greatest obstacles come from Seretse’s uncle (Vusi Kunene), who has been the country’s regent while the boy was readied to take the reins of power. For him, a white wife is an affront to the whole country, and he demands the future king divorce her or renounce his throne.
So does the Britain government. Tom Felton, who made such an obnoxious bully in the Harry Potter movies, is even nastier as a pipsqueak official, topped only by Jack Davenport’s sneering face in the home office as he informs Seretse he’s being sent into exile. While parliament and two prime ministers manoeuvre the African chessboard, Ruth and Seretse are buffeted by apparently invincible forces. Their peaceful but obstinate refusal to give up leads to the film’s rousing final scene.
Oyelowo becomes truly electrifying the few times he gets passionate about his country and raises his voice in ringing tones. Clearly it’s not just the royal title he cares about, but improving living standards of the people.
Pike’s Ruth is just a plucky, average, post-war Englishwoman until she is forced to draw on reserves of courage and intelligence to face adversity. Very little time is spent describing Africa and its inhabitants, and Asante settles for generic scene-setting. The local people also are lightly etched, gathering quickly and mysteriously on momentous occasions or bursting into group song to express themselves.
Still, Sam McCurdy’s cinematography captures some of the lonely beauty of Botswana’s dusty expanses and Patrick Doyle’s score hits some romantic highpoints. – Hollywood Reporter