Dir: Justin Chadwick
2013
****
There is a purity about Justin Chadwick's adaptation of Nelson Mandela's autobiography, which I think is at the heart of it's success but I wonder if a film that went into greater detail would have been a more fitting tribute to the great leader. It does show Mandela's faults and does not shy away from certain controversial issues but so much of his life is missing. There is only so much of a story one can tell in 141 minutes when exploring the life of such an influential person and the history of a country but I would argue that there would be few complaints if the film were to have been longer and had contained some more of the high-profile speeches Mandela made and had spend more time on his life in captivity. I thought Idris Elba's performance was great, although I don't think he looked or sounded anything like Mandela, I thought he got his spirit spot on. I've got to be honest though, I thought the make up used for his later years was fairly terrible and found it to be a little distracting. It was Naomie Harris who really steals the show though in her interpretation of Winnie Mandela, indeed the way the film handled her part of history was very bold and well done. It's a fine biopic and a must see, it's just one or two niggles away from me giving it a whole 5 stars.
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