✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Cinema

A United Kingdom film review ★★★★★

25 Nov 16 – 25 Jan 17, Times vary

David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike attack thinly-written parts with gusto in new Amma Assante film A United Kingdom, yet another middling real-life story.

By CW Contributor on 21/11/2016

1 CW reader is interested
David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike, A United Kingdom
David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike, A United Kingdom
A United Kingdom film review 2 A United Kingdom film review Matthew Robinson
When Seretse Khama and Ruth Williams fell in love in 1947, their relationship was already made difficult by dint of being interracial: Khama was from Bechuanaland (now Botswana), and met Williams in London while studying to be a barrister. But the fact that Khama was also heir to the throne of Bechuanaland complicated things even more.


When the couple got married, it put a lot of prejudiced noses out of joint, particularly ones in the government of neighbouring South Africa: a happy interracial marriage just north of the border would have made a mockery of apartheid. South Africa put pressure on Britain (of which Bechuanaland was protectorate) to intervene, and the Labour government conspired to have Khama exiled from the country he was supposed to be ruling.



Seretse eventually became Bechuanaland’s president. It’s a genuinely inspiring story, turned into a historical pantomime by director Amma Asante. Its heroes are played with enthusiasm by David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike, but due reverence doesn’t make for compelling characterisation, and its villains are completely fictional people drafted in to personify the real-life governmental malfeasance. Jack Davenport does dastardly things like raise his eyebrow and offer Khama a glass of sherry; Felton sports a hat, moustache, and glasses, presumably so that no one recognises him as Draco Malfoy. They are there to be splutteringly outraged when bested.


Other characters are even less convincing. One actually announces himself as ‘just a burnt-out reporter looking for a story’, and then says nothing for the rest of the film despite having an important part to play. The actors struggle to get their tongues around stiff sentences that sound less 1950s than Regency era. Faced with such dialogue, Terry Phato (playing Seretsi’s sister Naledi) should feel relieved that she hasn't been given much to say.


A United Kingdom isn’t unlikeable – it’s just not very good. But then true stories are often dully told on screen. Directors seem to think that that the words ‘inspired by actual events’ can substitute for dramatic intrigue or three-dimensional characters, when actually an incredible true story needs extra skill and effort in order to be made credible.


If you want an amazing story loosely dramatized with clichés, then go see A United Kingdom: it’s quicker than reading the book (Colour Bar by Susan Williams). But if you want cinema – if you want style, character, and ambiguity – we recommend you watch Jackie.

by Matthew Robinson

What A United Kingdom film review
Where Various Locations | MAP
Nearest tube Leicester Square (underground)
When 25 Nov 16 – 25 Jan 17, Times vary
Price £determined by cinema
Website Click here for more details



Most popular

Things to do in London this weekend: 27–29 January
Things to do in London this weekend: 27–29 January
London Theatre Guide: best plays on now in London (Photograph: Peter Lewicki)
London Theatre Guide: best plays on now in London, 2023
Culture After Dark: The Best Museum Late Night Openings
Culture After Dark: the best museum late-night openings

Editor's Picks


  • 1. FANTASTIC BEASTS

    J.K. Rowling’s spin-off book is now a magical film set in the Harry Potter universe

    2. KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL

    With the focus this year on films made by women, it’s time to get acquainted with the best of Korean cinema

    3. TOM FORD’S FINEST

    Nocturnal Animals is a savage revenge thriller, and another great film by the American designer

    4. BEST CHRISTMAS FILMS

    Our list of the films to see over the festive season, when you need a break from buying presents…

Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
1

Cinema

Political

Romantic

Film festival

You might like

  • Marion Cotillard and Brad Pitt, Allied film 2016, Robert Zemeckis

    Allied film review ★★★★★

  • Eddie Redmayne, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film

    Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film review ★★★★★

  • Jennifer Connelly and Ewan McGregor - American Pastoral, Philip Roth adaption 2016

    American Pastoral film review ★★★★★

  • Arrival film review [STAR:4]

    Arrival film review ★★★★★



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×