FilmSnobReviews

Title: A United Kingdom
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Amma Asante
Starring: David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Tom Felton
Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins

What It Is: While living in Great Britain on an education visa Seretse Khama (Oyelowo) meets and falls in love with Lloyd’s of London clerk Ruth Williams (Pike). This presents a few problems for people even outside of the two people in this discussion. You see Khama is black and Williams white. Not only does this not sit well with Ruth’s traditional white parents but Seretse’s Uncle is King of Bechuanaland. Seretse being royalty, the prince, and future king, he is expected to marry a girl from another tribe. When the two marry it sets off, even more, consequences that the two never foresaw.

What We Think: This is a wonderfully acted film. Not only is it incredibly acted but the script is well-built and gives its characters some development. This suffers from one flaw that Asante’s previous film Belle did as well, time. You don’t understand the passage of time very well. Sure the film hints with newspaper clips and a generalized sense of things, but overall this is a great film. David Oyelowo is such a great actor he oozes gravitas and charisma. Look no further than his criminally unawarded turn as MLK in Selma in addition, Rosamund Pike takes what little they give her to do and makes a great performance out of it. Jack Davenport and Tom Felton are despicable English dudes here. A role both have played before Davenport in The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and Felton in Harry Potter. 

Our Grade: B+, A damn fine film that deserves your attention this film got all but lost! It has everything you want in a great film. Its situations are real, and sadly still relevant. So wonderfully acted you cannot help but look at it and feel for and with the characters because the were real people dealing with real things. Obviously this gets high marks and a recommendation from me.