The Birth of a Nation

Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: October 7, 2016

5.4	USER SCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 120 Ratings

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StevieGJDOct 20, 2016

The subjects of this movie, slavery in general and Nat Turner in specific, are important stories that need to be told. There have not been enough good movies made about these subjects, including this one. There are many powerful andThe subjects of this movie, slavery in general and Nat Turner in specific, are important stories that need to be told. There have not been enough good movies made about these subjects, including this one. There are many powerful and disturbing moments in The Birth of a Nation. For some people, these moments and the fact that these stories are not told often are enough for them to ignore the glaring flaws in the film. The female characters are weak and need men to save them. Nat Turner's character is grossly oversimplified. There is a complete lack of subtlety and nuance in many scenes and with most of the evil characters. Many of the shots are over-composed or overly staged. so that they just look fake. The actor director is far too in love with himself and that really hurts the film. To be sure, there are going to be racists (whether they are aware of it or not) who will hate this film because of their biases and bigotry., But while I respected the intent and motivations of the film maker, the end result is simply not a very good film. I rate it as I do because I wanted it to be great. It needed to be great. It just is not great. It is worth seeing though. It merits discussion and reflection. I just wanted it to be better.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

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SpangleJan 20, 2017

Is there a talented actor with worse luck than Armie Hammer? Since first establishing himself in teen hearthrob roles on shows such as Gossip Girl, he went on to show he was here to stay with a great turn in The Social Network. Since then, noIs there a talented actor with worse luck than Armie Hammer? Since first establishing himself in teen hearthrob roles on shows such as Gossip Girl, he went on to show he was here to stay with a great turn in The Social Network. Since then, no matter what he picks, things just never work out for him. Sign onto J. Edgar, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Leonardo DiCaprio? Critical failure. The Lone Ranger, directed by Pirates helmer Gore Verbinski and starring Johnny Depp in a big budget revival of a popular old television show? Critical and commercial failure. The Man From UNCLE, co-starring Henry Cavill and directed by Guy Ritchie, and another revival of an old television show? Mixed reviews and a commercial failure. Nocturnal Animals, starring Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, while being directed by Tom Ford? This one has to be the one, right? Nope. Mixed reception and not likely to garner much Oscar attention. And now, we can add The Birth of a Nation to that pile. After seeing Michael Fassbender play a slave owner in 12 Years a Slave and in the aftermath of #OscarsSoWhite, this one seemed to be a safe bet to finally get Armie Hammer some popular recognition, but no, the film suffers critically and is maligned because of Nate Parker's past. Will this man ever find a film that is successful both critically and commerically?

The Birth of a Nation is a largely well put together historical biopic, a genre that I love. Though many hated the earlier The Free State of Jones, I am an apologist for the film and the genre as a whole. Give me some historical story and I would probably enjoy it a bit more than most. The Birth of a Nation, however, is hard to enjoy and its reasons only become clear in the second half. Initially a rousing tale of a slave, Nat Turner (Nate Parker), who learns the Bible and is sent to preach in horrible conditions to horribly treated slaves, the film is moving. It is always moving, in fact, with its images of brutality and horrifyingly poetic take on slavery. Yet, Parker overdoes it with symbols and a ham fisted approach to his protagonist's tale. Using butterfly symbols, a bleeding piece of corn, and repeated religious symbols (angels, crosses, and connections between Turner and various prophets), the film feels entirely misguided. This symbol-filled second half largely derides an otherwise solid film.

In the lead role, Parker is incredibly solid. Delivering powerful monologues, he captures the charisma and power of Nat Turner. Any man willing to take on his oppressor with nothing more than the Bible and an axe is a man that has incredible internal strength and confidence. Parker really captures this and turns in a consistently powerful performance of Turner. Alongside him, Aja Naomi King is brilliant as Nat Turner's wife, Cherry. Backing her husband on his mission from God all the way, she turns in a subtly powerful performance that will hopefully springboard her into larger roles.

Yet, as mentioned, it is the writing and direction that often let this one down. While the acting is rousing and the writing hits some high notes in the monologues, the film just feels too hamfisted. I am not one to argue that Nat Turner is bad. The men he killed undoubtedly deserved what they got coming to them for their treatment of slaves. Yet, the symbolism connecting him to Jesus or other prophets was just far too much. Turner lived with the sword and died by the sword, yet Parker is unwilling to criticize his hero at all, instead painting him as a religious prophet. While I concede that his situation demanded a violent uprising and that Turner himself was very religious, Parker comparisons between the violent Turner and the non-violent Jesus feel a bit too much. Of course, this only one instance of such ham fistedness with other instances of bleeding corn, some dream sequence in the trees with a half-naked Nate Parker or something, and the butterflies. All-in-all, Parker loses sight of his hero in these moments and instead turns into a symbolic look at a real story, when the real story was good on its own.

All of that said though, the first hour of The Birth of a Nation is quite good. Largely lacking the symbolism, it is a raw and powerful look at slavery. Combined with the sequence set to "Blood on the Leaves" at the end, Parker finds some truly stirring images in this film. Combined with good smoky cinematography covering the film is flat browns and grays, accented solely by blood or by the bright red/pink flowers given by Nat to his wife Cherry, the film is often quite pretty to look at. Through this film, Parker finds a captivating visual style and it is unfortunate that the final product does not live up to this style.

However, despite my reservations with this film, Nate Parker's past would not hinder my watching of any of his films. If I can watch the works of Woody Allen and Roman Polanski without hesitation, I can do the same here.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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MattyiceOct 7, 2016

While the story of Nat Turner's Rebellion is a powerful one indeed, the controversially titled The Birth of a Nation provides a very "ok" experience. The scenes involving Turner leading the rebellion and letting his ideas of freedom run wildWhile the story of Nat Turner's Rebellion is a powerful one indeed, the controversially titled The Birth of a Nation provides a very "ok" experience. The scenes involving Turner leading the rebellion and letting his ideas of freedom run wild are great and lead actor/director Nate Parker, along with the rest of the cast, are great. However, the film comes off as very derivative (note the Braveheart and 12 Years a Slave similarities) and the expression of Turner's true emotions and his development have been done much better (as seen in various other mediums). Overall, an okay debut for Nate Parker and, hopefully, he can provide some better follow-up films.… Expand

6 of 8 users found this helpful62

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tropicAcesOct 7, 2016

It's very well acted and knows its messages are important, but its direction is heavy-handed and it can't figure out *why* it matters. Parker is a talented actor and displays it here, changing his emotion from scared and tearful to angry onIt's very well acted and knows its messages are important, but its direction is heavy-handed and it can't figure out *why* it matters. Parker is a talented actor and displays it here, changing his emotion from scared and tearful to angry on the drop of a hat. But he gets in his own way, creating contrived dream sequences that come off as awkward and never puts us in Nat Turner's evolving mindset. A nice effort, especially as a directorial debut, but you know what they say about the road to hell...… Expand

6 of 8 users found this helpful62

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Muskrat147Oct 20, 2016

Even with Nate Parker's fantastic performance, The Birth of a Nation's heavy-handed direction and flawed narrative make the viewing experience slightly boring and uninteresting.

5 of 7 users found this helpful52

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3ebfan511Feb 23, 2017

Mediocre film that had potential. Basically the directing and storytelling were just sub-par and left the film a bit slow and boring (I fell asleep at least once and had to finish watching it again.) A better director could have actuallyMediocre film that had potential. Basically the directing and storytelling were just sub-par and left the film a bit slow and boring (I fell asleep at least once and had to finish watching it again.) A better director could have actually made this film into something Oscar worthy, but...that it is not. It has many shot selections that are out of a lifetime movie, and even worse...Nate Parker added in events that did NOT actually happen that portray his character in a more favorable light and then leaves OUT aspects that would make his character look "worse"...even though it is...the truth. Seems like the conduct of a guy who is a rapist who discards the truth for the convenience of whatever it is he is seeking. Sub-par film, made by an even worse, and creepier human being. Overall, not very good, and mostly ruined potential.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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DawdlingPoetNov 27, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a sobering watch, with some nice cinematography. The irony of the houses being white and the house owners being white, while the slaves have to (for the most part) take care of themselves, didn't pass me by. The music played is quite subtle, which I liked.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are many uses of strong language, including racially offensive terms, so be aware of that. I suppose it wouldn't be entirely authentic to the time its set in etc. if that weren't the case. I thought some of the dialogue was quite thought provoking, somewhat poignant, while what others said left a lot to be desired.

There is a fair amount of violence displayed (often bloody violence) including scenes of torture, so its worth being aware of that, hence me saying its a sobering watch. I thought Nate Parker gives a pretty stirring performance as Nat Turner. It has somewhat of a feel of '12 Years a Slave', I suppose but its not quite got the same 'epic' feel to it that the other film had, from what I remember.

The plot pace is a little slow and so this may frustrate some but its certainly an ok film overall. I'm not sure anyone can much enjoy the sort of film that focusses on the injustices of slavery and that shows clearly how uncaring and brutal slave owners were. I also noticed some of the dialogue was said in rather hushed tones, which I suppose had to be so, due to the context of the situations but I did struggle a bit to follow some of the dialogue. There are subtitles included in the Blu-Ray though, which help but this issue may frustrate some never the less.

Yes, I'd say this is worth a watch overall, if the subject matter interests you, although I honestly (obviously) can't comment on how accurate, or not, it is. There is one scene towards the end which is particularly haunting and having seen it once, its not the sort of film I'd want to see again.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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