A mixed bag

Rating: Null/10 (9 May 2003)

Opening with a deceptively fast-paced and violent scene of African slaves escaping their chains aboard ship and brutally murdering nearly all the crew during a thunderstorm, Amistad has plenty of moments. The scenes of sweaty escape and merciless slaughter are lit only by flashes of blue lightning, with lashing rain and minimal incidental music (spare us John Williams!), which lend a horror movie sensibility. I get the impression that Spielberg was attempting to ally our sympathies with the Spanish crew rather than the slaves at the start, but anyone with any knowledge of the real life case or of 19th century slavery will not be fooled. And in fact Spielberg pulls no punches, not just with the opening sequence, but also with the flashback depiction of slavery life.
Unfortunately, the majority of the film focuses on the legal work and courtroom scenes, and could have benefited from more time spent with the slaves awaiting their trial - but I guess this would have slowed the film's pace further.
And the pace is a little out of the ordinary, as we are lead to believe that the abolitionists have won, only to have another 30 minutes of appeal hearings and a rather tedious speech by Anthony Hopkins' character about the importance of our ancestors on our current lives - a little obscure, and a bit meandering considering the direction the material was previously taken.
However, there are many things to admire - not just the incredible cast (Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey, Morgan Freeman, Nigel Hawthorne and Pete Postlethwaite among many), but the acting, in particular Djimon Hounsou.