Copyright 2019 Neon“Amazing Grace” is 87 minutes of pure joy. No matter who you are, any one of any age, race, or religion, this film of a 1972 recording session in a small church in Los Angeles, will lift your spirit to the sky. Aretha Franklin, still in her 20’s and one of the top recording artists in the world, returns to the music of her youth to record what is still the number one gospel album of all time. A young filmmaker named Sidney Pollack was there to record it. But for a number of reasons, including an audio track that was not in sync with the visual, it was never shown to audiences.
Now it is here. Ms. Franklin barely says a word. Her father does, though, as does another preacher, James Cleveland. Other than that, it is just music, one of the greatest voices in history singing the church music she grew up with, accompanied by a choir led by Alexander Hamilton (that is his name), whose conducting is a movie of its own.
“Freedom” interweaves two stories of slavery. In one, an enslaved family led by Samuel (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) escapes via the Underground Railroad. In the other, set a century earlier, John Newton, the captain of a slave trader sails from Africa with a cargo of slaves, bound for America. On board is Samuel’s great grandfather whose survival is tied to the fate of Captain Newton. This portion of the story is based on the real-life captain who wrote the hymn, “Amazing Grace.” Director Peter Cousens talked to me about the film, and I began by asking him about the significant role played by music.
The music is certainly an important part kind of the kind of content for the film. It took a little bit of a while to massage the script and the story to make sense of these songs so that they came organically either out of the character’s kind of world or it just by chance within the storytelling. Obviously, some of the choices were scripted and sometimes we found other choices. Some of the music is a little bit anachronistic and not necessarily of the period but seemed to make sense with the story. And then the music for me that is probably the emotional heart of the film. “Amazing Grace,” which eventually get into full flight at the very end, obviously.
The other songs for me sort of become the emotional road to freedom. Being a singer myself, I understand that music is enormously releasing emotionally and psychologically releasing. The music sort of plays a kind of megaphone. As the songs become more and more kind of uplifting, when Samuel finally discovers his voice and is able to sing “Amazing Grace,” it’s really about him finally finding true freedom and it is expressed through the opportunity to sing. That for me is kind of metaphorically just happening throughout the film as he discovers his voice, he discovers his heart.
How did you approach telling two stories from two different time periods and in two different locations, keeping it all as one organic whole?
Initially in the script there was no real connection between these stories so I had to try and work out how we could do that. The central notion of that Bible and the boy became a connector to the two stories. But dealing with the two periods, especially for a small independent film, it was challenging, discovering how to create part of England, the Atlantic Ocean, a journey to Richmond, Virginia, all in Connecticut. I was lucky I had a really great designer and costume designer and director of photography and locations manager to kind of discover how we could actually create those two worlds. And she has challenges as you could imagine with the costume in those periods and just creating and finding ways. For instance at Mystic Harbor in Connecticut we shot in one direction just to create a particular harbor in West Africa. And then we just turned the camera around the next day and faced it the other way and created Charleston in Carolina. Those sorts of great cinematographer choices, that sort of trickery is kind of a way of solving some of these problems which were many. But I find with working with Americans in particular nothing is really impossible. If you ever were to be marooned on a desert island, get marooned with an independent film crew and you will survive.
My favorite scene in the film was the stop on the Underground Railroad with the theatrical troupe. It reminded me of the Crummles in Nicholas Nickleby.
When I was a younger actor I actually had the good fortune of performing in the eight-hour theatrical version of “Nicholas Nickleby.” I played Lord Verisopht and my wife played Fanny Squeers and Miss Petowker. It’s a favourite of mine and when I was doing this film the Crummles and that notion of Nicholas Nickleby was very present in mind as well. That sort of heightened actory campery that goes on in a troop like that. To me that as quite fun just directing those scenes obviously. So I’m glad you made that reference that was certainly in my head as well.
Life of Song is the latest CD from kid favorite Ella Jenkins, featuring classics like “Cotton-Eyed Joe,” “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” “Amazing Grace,” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” Ms. Jenkins was the first performer who understood the power of folk songs and spirituals for children and she has spent half a century bringing this music to schools all over the world.
This very special CD will be released February 22, but one lucky fan can get an early copy by sending me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with Ella in the subject line. Tell me your favorite song to sing in the car with your family and don’t forget your address!
Parents should know that this film includes frank descriptions of some of the most profound atrocities of the slave trade, including torture and rape. The painful symptoms of Wilberforce’s long-term illness are also included. The movie’s portrayal of extraordinary leadership, courage, and persistance is in the context of positions taken by other characters that by today’s standards are obviously inhumane and racist.
Families who see this film should talk about why Wilberforce was among the first to see that slavery must be abolished. What was different about the situation in Britain that permitted this to be accomplished years before slavery was abolished in America, and without a war? How are the arguments and tactics adopted by the opposition similar to those used in other great debates, from civil rights to women’s suffrage?
Families who appreciate this movie will want to learn more about William Wilberforce and William Pitt, the youngest prime minister in British history. Families will also appreciate Amistad and the groundbreaking television miniseries Roots. The essay “When Mr. Beecher Sold Slaves in Plymouth Pulpit” describes the actions of abolitionist minister Henry Ward Beecher (brother of Uncle Tom’s Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe) took the dramatic step of staging a slave auction to demonstrate its barbarity. Families will enjoy Bill Moyers’ superb PBS special about the history of the hymn “Amazing Grace.”
is the latest CD from kid favorite Ella Jenkins, featuring classics like “Cotton-Eyed Joe,” “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” “Amazing Grace,” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” Ms. Jenkins was the first performer who understood the power of folk songs and spirituals for children and she has spent half a century bringing this music to schools all over the world. 
and the groundbreaking television miniseries 
. The essay “When Mr. Beecher Sold Slaves in Plymouth Pulpit” describes the actions of abolitionist minister Henry Ward Beecher (brother of