Editorial - Amazing Grace: Another Look

God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the slave trade and the eformation of manners.” ~ William Wilberforce

The film Amazing Grace sheds a welcome light on British politician William Wilberforce and his campaign to abolish the slave trade in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Prior to this film’s release, I had no prior knowledge of Wilberforce’s pivotal role in ending slavery in Britain, much less his other social reforms such as free education and child labor laws. If he was mentioned in my school history books, it was a fleeting reference. The film focuses on Wilberforce’s campaign to abolish the slave trade—a battle in waged in Parliament for over ten years. His tireless efforts and faith in the rightness of his cause finally bore fruit in 1807, when a bill abolishing the slave trade finally passed Parliament.

Wilberforce is a fascinating character, particularly when you realize the strength with which his Christian faith informed his public actions. Quit simply, Amazing Grace is one of the most well-done, sensitively drawn portraits of a committed Christian I’ve ever seen on film. It expertly balances Wilberforce the man of faith with Wilberforce the politician and social activist. What you see in Amazing Grace is a man who lives his faith with every fiber of his being. It’s made crystal clear that every decision, every action Wilberforce took in his quest to end the abuses of the slave trade was influenced and informed by his deeply held faith in God. You cannot excise Wilberforce’s faith from who he was, because his faith played such an integral role in forming and molding his character. It’s so refreshing to see truly well-made, absorbing film about a committed Christian that doesn’t beat you over the head with a simplistic form of the salvation message. Amazing Grace does not tell you that you need Christ in your life; instead, it shows you who Christ can be in your life through Wilberforce’s inspiring example.

Everything about the film is top-notch—from the sets and costumes to the cinematography and David Arnold’s subtle, emotive score. It’s one of the best, most absorbing, accessible historical dramas I’ve ever seen. The fact that it “feels” so real is aided by the camerawork—historical dramas can fall into the trap of being filmed where the camera is always on the outside looking in, giving everything a very staged feel which distances the viewer from the action. Here, the camera puts the viewer in the middle of the action, making the events and the characters practically jump from the screen with life.

The movie is practically crammed with fantastic British actors. Ioan Gruffudd as Wilberforce delivers one of his best performances—he shines in historical roles and here he invests a compelling depth and emotional intensity to Wilberforce’s political and personal struggles. Albert Finney’s portrayal of John Newton, slave captain turned reformed preacher and Wilberforce’s spiritual mentor, is incredibly moving. Bernard Cumberbatch played William Pitt the Younger, England’s youngest Prime Minister and one of Wilberforce’s close friend and ally. These two young men quite literally took on the world and succeeded, defying all expectation and refusing to consider youth and lack of experience a handicap to success. In fact in the film, Pitt plays a crucial role in convincing his friend that he could serve God in the political arena by translating his private devotion into public action.

Amazing Grace is a gem of a film—it not only entertains but inspires in its vivid, riveting portrayal of a quiet man of faith who, with conviction and determination, changed history. Watch it and be inspired to examine your heart and your own God-given purpose and passion. In a topsy-turvy world that all too often scoffs and anything related to the Christian faith, Wilberforce’s life is a powerful reminder of the truth “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Wilberforce proves that faith, taken out and lived and acted upon, can quite literally transform the world.

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