Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace was a film I haven't seen before and I was quite surprised by it. The main story revolves around the abolition of the slave trade in the British Colonies in the late 1700's. The story line followed the simple 3 act guideline that most movies go off of.  William Wilberforce is a rather wealthy man who fights for what he believes is right. Dialogue in the movie was quite good. many scenes have conversations between two people. One that stood out to me was between Wilberforce and Barbra Spooner. They both believe for what is right and will fight for it. When Spooner is talking with Wilberforce, the words that they use help with the time period that this takes place and also what they actually know. What they know, I mean that they are well educated and you can tell how much they know.

The film follows the guidelines pretty well. With the Opening Image we see him help a horse from being abused. This is an example of Save the Cat that makes us love the main character. Wilberforce is sick and this creates a sense of curiosity of what he is sick with. He arrives at what we assume is his house (which is huge) and is aided by his servants. This adds to the sense of wealth that he has. Later on we meet William Pit who is Wilberforce's friend. He presents the theme of the movie which goes along the lines of Wilberforce changing the world for the better with abolition of slavery. This is the set up for the movie as well. Pit, running for Prime Minister and Wilberforce ahead in politics, to abolish slavery.

After this we have the catalyst which comes from the set up. Should he take on the slave trade? How can he stop it? He is tormented by the thought of slaves and this fuels his determination to help all those in need. The debate is pretty simple if we look at it. He decides to present a bill to the House of ending the slave trade. Now for the Fun and Games of the movie. Wilberforce assembles his team to help propose his bill. He gathers evidence from several people and tries to convince the wealthy to think about human rights and slavery. With little success with the house it ends up not working. Soon after Wilberforce gets sick and is gone for two years. This is our Mid-Point.

Two years later he is then introduced to Spooner, which creates a love story for the main character. Our B-Story is now appearing to the viewer. With the Wilberforce and Spooner meeting each other, Wilberforce tells the story of how he has failed to pass his bill. With our dark night of the soul, he convinces him to try again, he agrees. With Wilberforce gathering his team back, they come up with a way to cheat. In doing so, presents us with the Dues ex Machima. Lord Charles Fox, gives everyone in the house a ticket to the races. They have the most boring presenter give the idea about checking all ships and finds a loophole in the end of the slave trade. With nobody to oppose the bill, it is passed.

The Finale is the process of the bill passing and the celebration of a new era. The Final Image is Wilberforce completing the theme, making a change in the world. He has fought for what is right.