Emancipation

Name: Emancipation
Genre: Action, Thriller
Released: December 2, 2022
Duration: 132 min
Rating: 53
Cast: Aaron Moten, Ben Foster, Charmaine Bingwa, David Denman, Gilbert Owuor

2022

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Mixed or average reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 38 Ratings

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Emancipation

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Movie Details & Credits

Apple TV+ | Release Date: December 2, 2022 | R

Starring: Aaron Moten, Ben Foster, Charmaine Bingwa, David Denman, Gilbert Owuor, Grant Harvey, Imani Pullum, Jabbar Lewis, Michael Luwoye, Mustafa Shakir, Paul Ben-Victor, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Steven Ogg, Will Smith

Movie Facts:

Streams on Apple TV+ beginning December 9, 2022.

Summary: Peter (Will Smith) escapes from slavery, relying on his wits and unwavering faith to evade cold-blooded hunters and the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana on his quest to reunite with his family. The film is inspired by the 1863 photos of “Whipped Peter,” taken during a Union Army medical examination, that first appeared in Harper’s Weekly.Peter (Will Smith) escapes from slavery, relying on his wits and unwavering faith to evade cold-blooded hunters and the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana on his quest to reunite with his family. The film is inspired by the 1863 photos of “Whipped Peter,” taken during a Union Army medical examination, that first appeared in Harper’s Weekly. One image, known as “The Scourged Back,” which shows Peter’s bare back mutilated by a whipping delivered by his enslavers, ultimately contributed to growing public opposition to slavery.… Expand

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Genre(s): Action, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 132 min

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Critic Reviews

The Telegraph Robbie Collin

Nov 30, 2022

Emancipation is a finely crafted, unflinching pursuit thriller about a slave seizing his freedom in 1860s Louisiana, and the first notable thing about it is that Smith is terrific in it. Read full review

Johnny Oleksinski

Nov 30, 2022

Emancipation, which is an otherwise well-tread period drama about the horrors of slavery, features more of Smith’s rich emotionality and laser-focused intensity that he’s uncovered late in his career and that won him the Oscar for last year’s “King Richard.” Read full review

Jake Coyle

Dec 1, 2022

Fuqua’s film is often harrowing and gripping but also less nuanced and too narrowly confined in genre conventions than its real-life protagonist deserves. Read full review

IndieWire David Ehrlich

Nov 30, 2022

American movie-watchers are used to consuming their history lessons with a heavy layer of artificial butter on top, but William N. Collage’s script filters Gordon’s saga through so many creaky Hollywood tropes that the over-cranked genre stuff begins to feel more honest by comparison. Read full review

David Jenkins

Dec 7, 2022

Peter’s unflappable, occasionally unbelievable heroism is placed front and centre, and it’s nearly always at the expense of making Emancipation a richer and more varied experience as a piece of cinema. Read full review

Lovia Gyarkye

Nov 30, 2022

The drama feels flimsy when it strays from the swamps, rendering the politics of the time as almost secondary to the visual spectacle of a harrowing escape. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

Dec 6, 2022

Unfortunately, by the time the movie gets around to the parts that might have dazzled us, Emancipation already lost its audience. Read full review

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User Reviews

Dadsaplaya2

Dec 9, 2022

It's a very good movie. Will Smith does a good job and the movie is engaging without being so brutal that I feel traumatized. I mean it is a brutal subject that needs to be watched like the holocaust or Vietnam Era truthful movies but if you identify too much with the trauma it is not aIt's a very good movie. Will Smith does a good job and the movie is engaging without being so brutal that I feel traumatized. I mean it is a brutal subject that needs to be watched like the holocaust or Vietnam Era truthful movies but if you identify too much with the trauma it is not a meaningful experience. I'm disappointed with reviews that concentrate on the Oscar's rather that this movie and subject matter. The negative bias is pretty obvious.… Expand

4 of 10 users found this helpful46

KECH22

Dec 23, 2022

Awesome! Probably the best movie I've seen on the historical truths of American history. Will Smith is brilliant! Anthony Fuqua is genius!

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

alanpotter17

Dec 22, 2022

O amadurecimento de Will Smith como ator dramático chega ao seu ápice neste filme visceral, onde encarna um escravo fugitivo em sua busca por libertação.
Embora todo o cenário se dê em uma paisagem quase sempre aberta, com direito a pântanos, jacarés, cobras e muitas trilhas, temos a todo oO amadurecimento de Will Smith como ator dramático chega ao seu ápice neste filme visceral, onde encarna um escravo fugitivo em sua busca por libertação.
Embora todo o cenário se dê em uma paisagem quase sempre aberta, com direito a pântanos, jacarés, cobras e muitas trilhas, temos a todo o tempo uma sensação claustrofóbica que persiste em suas mais de duas horas. A fotografia enegrecida aqui foi muito bem vinda, onde não se vê a cor vermelha do sangue, mas é possível sentir na entrega das atuações toda a dor sofrida pelos negros recém-libertos, numa época em que Lincoln acabara de assinar a alforria, mas os estados do sul persistiam naquilo que foi um dos maiores episódios de desumanização.
Antoine Fuqua não se esquiva de alguns deslizes, como a câmera lenta em várias ocasiões, ou o velho clichê familiar, beirando a pieguice. A cena final também, com um exército de resistência, no plano aéreo ficou muito bela, mas ainda meio confusa nas trincheiras, coisas que Spielberg ou mesmo Malick fizeram de forma mais visceral, mas isso em nenhum momento tira o brilho da obra.
Uma das coisas que tem grande destaque é a locação das cenas, os cenários parecem se repetir, mas dão a exata dimensão do quão extenso são, de fato você sente a imensidão da floresta durante toda a projeção, e a luta pela sobrevivência, coisa que "O regresso", por exemplo, só conseguiu arranhar.
Se não fosse pelo Elvis de Austin Butler, e o cancelamento do Will Smith dado o episódio lamentável na última premiação, teríamos aqui um fortíssimo concorrente a ator, porque a atuação dele está realmente excepcional, inclusive pelo sotaque sulista e falas haitianas.
É um filme doloroso, mas também contemplativo, um grande acerto. Não chega a ser um "12 anos de escravidão", mas já entra na galeria dos melhores filmes sobre esse período sombrio.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

bertobellamy

Dec 13, 2022

'Emancipation' reminds us that the abolition of slavery during the American Civil War was a complicated matter that the Union failed to understand and facilitate completely. However, the poor character development and the way it becomes Oscar bait is kind of shameful. Will Smith is not'Emancipation' reminds us that the abolition of slavery during the American Civil War was a complicated matter that the Union failed to understand and facilitate completely. However, the poor character development and the way it becomes Oscar bait is kind of shameful. Will Smith is not terrible, but beyond the stoicism of his character, there is no other quality that gives him nuance. Also, the transition between escape drama and war movie is certainly not the most organic. And despite its brutality and crudeness, the film does not offer the emotions it believes it has built, nor does it move the feelings it believes it has.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

royalguy07

Dec 12, 2022

Very displeased by the overall aesthetic and the 90% black and white nonsense. 2+ hours of complete despair with an awful color grade. Some cool drone shots I guess sprinkled here and there.

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

HamishIII

Jan 8, 2023

Not well done boring and smith just dials it in - not sure why this hot made -

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

enut_butter

Dec 15, 2022

While the entire movie is laughably bad, Will Smith comes in like a broken dog. Not the character he’s portraying, but the man playing the character is broken and therefore can’t channel any of his former acting abilities. It’s probably because his wife bangs other people and publicly talksWhile the entire movie is laughably bad, Will Smith comes in like a broken dog. Not the character he’s portraying, but the man playing the character is broken and therefore can’t channel any of his former acting abilities. It’s probably because his wife bangs other people and publicly talks about it.… Expand

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

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