Amazing Grace

This weekend we watched the movie about the life of abolitionist William Wilberforce, “Amazing Grace.” It was an interesting look into a life that included privilege and sickness, friendship and loneliness, faith and despair, politics and religion. I’d recommend it – both for its historic information and for the inspiration it provides about how faith and politics can meet, and how passion and commitment do matter. It also provides a compelling story of how being young should not stop us from speaking out or changing things within “the establishment” – Wilberforce was elected to Parliament as a 21 year old, and his close friend became the youngest Prime Minister ever, at 24 yrs old (William Pitt the Younger). I was most struck by the film’s insistence on showing the long, painful, seemingly failing road that Wilberforce suffered along as he fought against slavery in Britain – it reminded me that so often when we are in the middle of the road, on the journey but not sure yet of where we are headed, it can sometimes seem like we’ll never get there. Like we’ve been left by God, like our sense of call and our whole purpose in life is skewed or lost, like maybe we were wrong to think that we could help God change the world. When we only see the end result of great leaders and people of faith, we might forget that the dark middle of the road can still be a redeeming place too. And that knowing what is right, and what is in the heart of God, DOES triumph in the end.   

The movie is basically a period historical drama with a little comedy, a little action, and a lot of inspiration thrown in. So the film’s pace is somewhat slow, although it jumps right into the plot without a lot of background, so we found ourselves wanting to know more about the political and religious climate that Wilberforce’s life was being affected by. The acting in the film is also very solid – Ioan Gruffudd is amazing as Wilberforce, and Albert Finney’s portrayal of John Newton (reformed slave trader turned preacher who penned the hymn “Amazing Grace”), especially stands out. The movie’s websitealso provides some interesting resources for churches and individuals to use, including group discussion guides, CDs and books, and various ways to continue on the work of Wilberforce and other justice causes. I haven’t checked these resources out in detail yet, but they look pretty good. If you see the movie or have used any of these resources, let me know what you think!