Emancipation (2022 film)

Emancipation (2022 film)
Emancipation is a 2022 American historical action thriller film set in Louisiana in the 1860s after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery in secessionist Confederate states. The film was directed by Antoine Fuqua and co-produced by Will Smith, who stars as a runaway slave headed for Baton Rouge. He must survive the swamps while being chased by slave catchers and their dogs. Written by William N. Collage, the biographical film is loosely based on a possibly conglomerated story of the lives of either or both of two formerly enslaved Black men named Gordon and "Whipped Peter". That story was made famous by the photograph of a man's bare back heavily scourged from an overseer's whippings, published worldwide as magazine illustrations in 1863, and gave the abolitionist movement proof of the cruelty of slavery. Ben Foster stars as a ruthless slave hunter and Charmaine Bingwa as an enslaved wife and mother. The film employs an artistic desaturated color palette reminiscent of black-and-white film.
Producer Joey McFarland began researching the story in 2018, and hired Collage to write the script. The film was officially announced in June 2020, with Fuqua to direct and Smith to star. Filming was in Louisiana between July and August 2021, with Apple paying to acquire the rights to the film, outbidding several other studios.
It was screened in Washington, D.C., on October 1, 2022, and released in select cinemas on December 2, 2022, then streamed on December 9 on Apple TV+. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Smith's performance, but criticized the screenplay and its handling of real-life events.
Plot
In a cotton plantation in 1863, Peter is seen sitting on the floor of a house knelt before his wife, with his children sitting around him. Suddenly, a group of white men appear at the doorway and snatch a reluctant Peter out of the house, with him putting up a fight until one of the men points a gun at his wife’s head. Peter is then hit in the back of his head, put into the back of a cage on the back of a carriage, and taken from his family to an unknown destination. He shouts to his wife and children that he will come back and they should stay together. On his journey, he sees slaves working at the roadside and the heads of slaves that have been killed on poles. Peter is then sent to work on constructing a railroad in Clinton, Louisiana.
The slaves are treated with cruelty by white guards and the boss, Fassel. They are whipped, set upon by dogs, branded and dragged by horses if they try to run away or shot if they stop working because of exhaustion. Peter tells the slaves to believe in God and pray.
One day, Peter has had enough, and he uses an opportune moment to fight back at the white men along with other slaves. They escape and run away, while being chased by the white men on horseback and vicious dogs. One slave is unable to swim across a river due to crocodiles and is caught by the dogs. After revealing the locations of the other slaves to Fassel, he is then freed and tries to cross the river but is then shot. The three remaining men split up and go about their separate ways. Peter has many close encounters with being found, but somehow manages to stay hidden from his enslavers. When Peter is close to Baton Rouge, Fassel catches to him and is about to shoot him, when he is shot in the head by a Black member of the 1st Louisiana Native Guard.
Peter is saved by members of the regiment and is taken to a hospital to recover. He then joins the army to help free his family. A photograph was taken of him and was vowed to be shown all over the world to aid the end of slavery. He finds his wife and children and they are all free from slavery. In the epilogue, it is due to Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation that by 1865, over 4 million slaves have been freed.
Cast
Will Smith as Peter
Ben Foster as Fassel
Charmaine Bingwa as Dodienne
Steven Ogg as Sergeant Howard
Mustafa Shakir as Andre Cailloux
Jayson Warner Smith as Captain John Lyons
Gilbert Owuor as Gordon
Grant Harvey as Leeds
Ronnie Gene Blevins as Harrington
Jabbar Lewis as Tomas
Michael Luwoye as John
Aaron Moten as Knowls
Imani Pullum as Betsy
David Denman as General William Dwight
Production
On June 15, 2020, it was reported that Antoine Fuqua would direct Will Smith in Emancipation, based on a spec script written by William N. Collage. Producer Joey McFarland, who had started researching and developing the film in 2018, recruited Collage to write the script. Fuqua said:
Warner Bros, MGM, Lionsgate, and Universal Pictures bid on the film before Apple ultimately won distribution rights for over . In August 2021, Ben Foster, Charmaine Bingwa, Gilbert Owuor, and Mustafa Shakir joined the cast. Smith was paid $35 million for his involvement.
Principal photography was expected to begin on May 3, 2021, in Los Angeles. It was later set to begin on June 21, 2021, in Georgia, but on April 12, it was announced that the film would be shot elsewhere due to the recently-enacted Election Integrity Act of 2021. Smith and Fuqua said in a joint statement: "We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access." The location move was reported to have cost approximately . Filming was announced to take place in New Orleans from July 12 to August 21, 2021. On August 2, filming paused for five days due to several positive COVID-19 tests. Additional casting for the film was announced in November and December.
Music
The film score is by Marcelo Zarvos, who described the music as "spiritual and untraditional" as per Fuqua's suggestions. He employed a 70-piece orchestra, a 40-member choir, and soloists from around the world, for traditional American and African sounds. The soundtrack was released by Lakeshore Records on December 9, 2022.
Release
A screening of Emancipation was held at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 51st Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., on October 1, 2022, with Smith and Fuqua in attendance to give a subsequent Q&A discussion. It was screened in Los Angeles, on October 24, 2022. The film premiered in theaters on December 2, 2022, and was streamed on Apple TV+ on December 9.
In May 2022, the film's release was reportedly delayed to a tentative 2023 date, due to numerous production delays, the controversy over Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards, and an overcrowded film release schedule from Apple. It was subsequently moved to its final date.
Reception
The slap incident has influenced some reviews, which talk about the movie against a backdrop of the slap and Smith's possible redemption in Hollywood.
Accolades
See also
List of films featuring slavery
References
External links
2022 action drama films
2022 action thriller films
2022 films
2020s American films
2020s chase films
2020s English-language films
2020s historical action films
2020s historical drama films
2020s historical thriller films
Action films based on actual events
African Americans in the American Civil War
American action drama films
American action thriller films
American chase films
American Civil War films
American films based on actual events
American historical action films
American historical drama films
American historical thriller films
Apple TV+ original films
Drama films based on actual events
Escape Artists films
Film productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Films about American slavery
Films directed by Antoine Fuqua
Films produced by Will Smith
Films scored by Marcelo Zarvos
Films set in Louisiana
Films set in swamps
Films shot in New Orleans
Overbrook Entertainment films
Thriller films based on actual events