THE 24TH will be AvailableOn Virtual Cinema, VOD and Digital on August 21st. Check out the trailer:
THE 24TH tells the incredibly powerful and timely true story of the all-black Twenty-Fourth United States Infantry Regiment, and the Houston Riot of 1917. The Houston Riot was a mutiny by 156 African American soldiers in response to the brutal violence and abuse at the hands of Houston police officers. The riot, which lasted two hours, led to the death of nine civilians, four policemen and two soldiers and resulted in the largest murder trial in history, which sentenced a total of nineteen men to execution, and forty-one men to life sentences.
THE 24th stars Trai Byers, Bashir Salahuddin, Aja Naomi King, Mo McRae, Tosin Morohunfola, Mykelti Williamson, and Thomas Haden Church
A flawed masterpiece, writer-director-star Nate Parker’s THE BIRTH OF A NATION is based on the true tale of Nat Turner, a bible-thumping, visionary slave who led a bloody uprising in Virginia in 1831. As a child, Nat was bound for more than picking cotton. With the encouragement of his owner’s nurturing wife (Penelope Ann Miller), Nat studied the Bible, which leads to him growing up (played by Parker) as one of the few educated slaves on the struggling plantation run by Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer). Samuel rents Nat out to other plantation owners to preach, earning a name as someone who can keep slaves mollified despite their abuse. Nat crosses a line by baptizing a white man which leads to a whipping and the epiphany that he can no longer stand by while blacks are mistreated. He and a band of fellow slaves ambush and murder over 50 white folks – not just slaveholders but also their wives and families. Though they were eventually killed or captured, herds of white men took unholy retribution by roaming the land lynching blacks left and right, some 200 in all. Slavery would continue for several decades after Turner’s revolt, but slaveholders could never again be certain their ‘property’ would not someday turn on them. It’s a shocking story, one I’m surprised has never been tackled before, and so impressive the feats of directing, writing, cinematography, and historical research that conspire to bring us THE BIRTH OF A NATION that the film’s weaknesses are that much more frustrating.
The film’s biggest flaw is that Nate Parker’s performance as Turner is not up to the material. Nat Turner is a such a complex and mythic character that it’s a shame Parker didn’t cast someone with stronger acting chops. Nat Turner needs to be the slow burn of a lit fuse, which would make the carnage more natural. Instead Parker plays him as a passionate preacher (there is a lotof scripture in this film), but with emotions always at the same level – humble and benign, which makes the introduction of bloody axe-murders and decapitations a bit jarring. It would have helped for contrast if someone other than the bland Armie Hammer had been cast as Samuel Turner (think Warren Oates in DRUM – now thatwas a colorful mastah!). Aja Naomi King as Nat’s wife Cherry doesn’t make much of an impression while the scene stealer in THE BIRTH OF A NATION is Jackie Earl Haley as slave hunter Raymond Cobb. He’s hardly a shaded villain, but Haley hits the right hateful notes and I wish his role had been bigger.
Where Nate Parker really shines is in his ambitious, swing-for-the-fences direction of THE BIRTH OF A NATION. One long shot that just takes your breath away begins with the close-up of a butterfly, then slowly pulls back to reveal unspeakable horror. The film’s final image makes you want to stand up in your seat and cheer. A young boy quickly morphs ahead several decades and what he’s doing and represents ends the film on the highest of high notes. It’s an astonishing debut. Parker loads his film with heavy-handed symbolism, religious dreams, and Christ imagery, all driven by Henry Jackman’s appropriately grandiose score, bold moves that work in terms of mythologizing Turner. It’s too bad that THE BIRTH OF A NATION isn’t more consistent in its potency. The BRAVEHEART-inspired battle sequence is lackluster and not as cathartic as it should be and seems to end just as it begins. Despite some weaknesses, I highly recommend THE BIRTH OF A NATION. Whether you think Nat Turner a hero, a religious fanatic, a villain, or all of the above, his story is an important one and Nate Parker tells it brilliantly.
Set against the antebellum South, THE BIRTH OF A NATION follows Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities – against himself and his fellow slaves – Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.
Starring Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Mark Boone Junior, Aja Naomi King, Gabrielle Union, Roger Guenveur Smith, Dwight Henry, Penelope Ann Miller and Jackie Earle Haley, THE BIRTH OF A NATION opens in St. Louis on October 7th.
WAMG invites you to enter for the chance to win TWO (2) seats to the advance screening of THE BIRTH OF A NATION on OCTOBER 3 at 7PM in the St. Louis area.
Answer the following:
While a number of revered films have explored the contours of slavery, from 12 YEARS A SLAVE to GLORY, AMISTAD and LINCOLN, Nate Parker’s motivation is to renew the past and to seek illumination from it, rather than turn the same blind eye that kept people in the dark for so long.
Which one of the films listed above was a Best Picture winner?
Which film was awarded a Best Actor win?
Which film garnered an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role?
TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME, ANSWERS, AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. No purchase necessary. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house. The theater is not responsible for overbooking.
Fox Searchlight Pictures has released the first trailer for director Nate Parker’s THE BIRTH OF A NATION.
Set against the antebellum South, THE BIRTH OF A NATION follows Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner, accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities – against himself and his fellow slaves – Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.
In his Sundance Film Festival review, The Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy says the film, “offers up more than enough in terms of intelligence, insight, historical research and religious nuance to not at all be considered a missed opportunity. Far more of the essentials made it into the film than not; its makers’ dedication and minute attention are constantly felt, and the subject matter is still rare enough onscreen as to be welcome and needed, as it will be the next time and the time after that.”
The drama is also written and produced by the film’s star Nate Parker.
In March, Mitch Neuhauser, Managing Director of CinemaCon announced that Parker would receive the “CinemaCon® Breakthrough Director of the Year Award”. CinemaCon, the official convention of The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) was held April 11–14, 2016 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
“Following its Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the 2016 Sundance film festival, Nate Parker’s ‘The Birth of a Nation’ will surely bring movie-going audiences to their feet when it is released October 7th,” noted Neuhauser. “A pure labor of love and a film that shows the true passion necessary to craft it, we are honored to present such an outstanding filmmaker with this years ‘CinemaCon Breakthrough Director of the Year Award.’”
Parker first received critical attention in 2007 for his role in “The Great Debaters” receiving an NAACP Image Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He followed that up with such critically acclaimed films as “The Secret Life of Bees,” for which he received a Best Supporting Actor NAACP Image Award nomination, “Red Tails,” “Arbitrage,” and “Red Hook Summer.” He has also appeared in “Pride,” “Dirty,” “Felon,” “1968 Tunnel Rats,” and “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” among many others. Most recently Parker received his third NAACP Image Award nomination for his performance in “Beyond the Lights.” In addition to his feature film credits Parker has written and directed multiple shorts including “#AmeriCan,” which won the Black Reel Award for Outstanding Independent Short and has appeared onstage in “American Voices” at the Broad Street Theater.
THE BIRTH OF A NATION’s cast includes Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, Jackie Earle Haley, Mark Boone Jr., Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Dwight Henry, Aja Naomi King, Esther Scott, Roger Guenveur Smith and Gabrielle Union. The score is from composer Henry Jackman.
