A United Kingdom

Dir: Amma Asante

2016

****

I was initially uninterested in 2016’s A United Kingdom, not because of the subject matter but mainly because I didn’t find the title particularly appealing and I don’t much care for Rosamund Pike. However, I’ve always liked David Oyelowo and when the penny dropped and I realised who Amma Asante was I was immediately keen. Asante was in the best kids TV show in the 1980s (Grange Hill) and her 2013 period drama Belle was an impressive and long-overdue follow up to her relatively unseen 2004 debut A Way of Life. Her directional talent was clear in 2004 and it’s just as good in 2016. The story, the true-life romance between Sir Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams Khama is a beautiful one. Their love, which was pure, was marred by politics, tradition and pure racism but their marriage survived to help break down the barriers and dampen the taboo, particularly in the UK. Seretse Khama was heir to the throne of Bechuanaland (now Botswana), so who he married would always have been scrutinised by his country, particularly because she was white, but the British response was far more surprising, and rather revealing. It is right for the governments of post-war Britain to be revealed of their wrongdoings and as a Brit I’m glad our society is reminded of this. As much as I didn’t like the way the great Clement Attlee was portrayed in the film it did show his downfall accurately. Winston Churchill also received justified criticism, although less so, such is the bastard’s untouchability in today’s society. Respect too for acknowledging Tony Benn and the voice of reason within the Labour party at the time but I do wonder whether the performances and script regarding Jack Davenport’s Alistar Canning and Tom Felton’s Rufus Lancaster were a little overcooked. I guess if the two actors are happy to be typecast then that’s their business but I don’t think it did the film any good, the ‘villainous’ characters could have all been a little less cartoonish in my opinion but I suppose they served a purpose. In the end the message is most important, it needed to reach everyone, even if it does mean that aspects have to be sugared and spoon-fed. However, those important aspect do come through, the love between the Seretse and Ruth is convincing, Oyelowo and Pike are perfect together and they both excel in their very different roles. I think their strong performances outshine many of the supporting actor’s efforts but not to the film’s detriment. Most importantly, it shows the situation for the ridiculous thing it was and how historically important it would become. It’s one of the most heart-warming romances I’ve seen for a long time, fiction is rarely this good, so it is wonderful that it is based respectfully on a true story. Racism is sadly alive and well, I was in a previous relationship with someone of another colour than mine and I was astonished at the reaction we both received from various different people, some strangers and some family. Asante does well not too force the message down the throats of those that really needed it hammered into them and handles the tone with restraint and class. The direction and cinematography is sublime, from the plains of Africa to the cold winder of London, it always looks beautiful and always looks authentic. It’s a fitting tribute, an important history lesson and something everyone can take from, a few script tweaks and a couple of performance changes away from being a five star classic.