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Some people may say that the annual Oscars ceremony is dull—but last year’s event went viral, thanks to Will Smith and Chris Rock. After that night, it was assumed that Smith’s career would be put on hold for a while—but, less than a year later, he’s back with Antoine Fuqua’s AppleTV+ release Emancipation.
Emancipation is set in Louisiana, during the months following Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. When Peter (Smith) is taken away from his family and sent to work for the Confederate Army, he promises that he’ll return for them. While he’s working, he overhears the news that Lincoln has freed the slaves. Instead of waiting to be released, he decides to escape to Baton Rouge, where the Union Army is camped. But in order to make it to freedom, he’ll have to spend days racing through swamps, tracked by a ruthless hunter (Ben Foster) and his dogs.
For years, Peter has endured the brutality of the plantation owner and his men. He’s fought back to protect himself, his family, and his fellow slaves—and he bears the scars to prove it. Emancipation doesn’t hold back in its portrayal of slavery in America. The scenes from the plantation and from the Confederate camp are gritty and brutal and difficult to watch—and viewers will often be shaken by the vile treatment of these men and women.
Really, though, most of this film isn’t about slavery; it’s about the chase. It isn’t long before Peter escapes from the camp—and then he spends the majority of the movie on the run. He hides from the hunters and their dogs. He battles the elements and the vicious creatures that live in the swamps. In that way, Peter is like a Civil War Jason Bourne, trying to outrun those who want him dead. That definitely makes for an unexpected film: a 21st-century chase movie set in the 1860s.
No matter what you may think about Will Smith and his recent behavior, he does give a strong performance here, blending his talents for both drama and action. But while Peter’s chase through the swamps of Louisiana does offer plenty of action, it also means that the story is simple. So if you’re looking for a powerful story about an unwavering runaway slave, you might find it lacking in drama.
Emancipation definitely marks another noteworthy performance from its talented star. It’s brutal and action-packed, following this character through the horrors of slavery to the horrors of war in his quest to return to his family. But the chase does tend to take from the drama of his story.
Following a short theatrical release Emancipationcomes to AppleTV+ on December 9, 2022.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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