A UNITED KINGDOM is one of those movies where one is compelled to say “based on a true story” lest viewers scoff that such a thing couldn’t happen. Set in the late 1940s, the film is based on a real-life romance between a white middle-class English office worker and an African prince attending college in London but due to return home to ascend as king of his country. In this visually beautiful, romantic historical drama, the two meet, fall in love and marry, which sparks not only outrage in both their families but an international crisis.
The story takes place shortly after World War II, when European colonial powers still controlled most of Africa and apartheid was just taking hold in South Africa. When office clerk Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) meets Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) at a dance, she has no clue about his royal title. Actually, Khama is already technically king of Bechuanaland (later called Botswana), but his uncle Tshekedi Khama (Vusi Kunene) has acted as regent since he became the heir as a child. Unlike neighboring South Africa, Bechuanaland was not a British colony but protectorate, an arrangement the regent/uncle made under threat of invasion. The pact with the British left the royal family as the rulers of Bechuanaland but gave the British considerable power over the country. With his graduation from law school, the young king is now old enough to claim the throne, and the British government expects to maintain their influence or even expand it under his rule.
When Seretse and Ruth fall in love, they face family disapproval but the marriage of the white woman to a black king has national and international political repercussions as well. Both Seretse’s regent uncle and his own people rebel at the idea of a white queen. The British government opposes the marriage, and South Africa is particularly outraged. Having just installed its policy of racial apartheid, the idea of a white woman as queen of a neighboring nation is something South Africa cannot tolerate, and it pressures the British to take action. At the same time, mining companies are exploring Bechuanaland for potential natural resources, adding another dimension to the complex international forces at work.
A UNITED KINGDOM is a crowd-pleasing film about real people and events, which means it has strengths and weaknesses of that type of film. Its greatest strength is its surprising, inspiring story – not just the forbidden bi-racial romance but its underdog story of a little African country asserting its independence in the face of a global power.
The young king is played by David Oyelowo, perhaps best known to American audiences for his portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King in SELMA. Interestingly, the British-born actor of Nigerian parents was actually born a prince himself, although he declined the title to pursue his acting career. Oyelowo is also one of the producers on the film, and this is clearly a story that spoke to him.
A UNITED KINGDOM is directed by Amma Asante, a British woman director of Ghanaian heritage who has previously handled well historical dramas with a racial theme. Her film BELLE was a lush, romantic costume drama about an 18th century bi-racial young woman’s legal battle in a London court to claim the inheritance left her by her white British father.
The screenplay was written by Guy Hibbert, whose works include the intelligent drone warfare thriller EYE IN THE SKY. The combination of Asante and Hibbert, along with the compelling historical story, seemed to promise a film that would be a sure winner.
The historical story behind A UNITED KINGDOM is fabulous basis for a film, worthy of a great film. It as not only a wonderful love story but one that touches on racial issues and contemporary world politics as well. More than one writer has noted the parallels between colonialism and globalization, where control of natural resources loom large, and that focus adds an extra dimension to the story. Like in BELLE, Asante uses the wonderfully romantic personal story to tell a larger racial and political historic tale. But despite the story’s dramatic potential, its talented director and screenwriter, and strong efforts by a talented pair in the lead roles, A UNITED KINGDOM does not always succeed as a film.
The film starts out well. Seretse and Ruth meet at a dance, and sparks fly from first glance. They share a love of jazz and sense of fun, and Ruth’s rule-breaking personality appeals to Seretse as much as her beauty. Their romance is a whirlwind one. Seretse and Ruth expect opposition from their families but they are unprepared for the political crisis their marriage sparks once they are back in his homeland. A line of dialog in the film sums it up well: “we misread this.” Still, the couple are determined both to stay together, and to rule their country together.
The actors generate convincing romantic chemistry, which helps the romance drive the plot and give the film energy. The photography by Sam McCurdy and shot on locations in the Britain and Botswana, is lush and appealing, making the most of period costumes and classic cars in color-drenched settings. Rosamund Pike, who has been more often seen in supporting roles like in AN EDUCATION and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, does a fine job portraying Ruth. Ruth is a carefree, bold personality in England, but far less confident once she finds herself alone in Africa. However, the real acting stand-out is David Oyelowo, who lights up the screen in a series of moving speeches as well as in the romantic scenes.
Audience members who get swept up in the film’s crowd-pleasing true story and its considerable visual beauty may overlook its cinematic shortcomings but others may note that the film is not quite as good as its remarkable historical story. Once the couple are separated, the film has trouble maintaining its dramatic steam. The plot sinks into a list of political maneuvers, and the couple’s occasional phone calls are not enough bring back the emotional fire of the first part of the film, even when their child is born. At attempt to boost the human emotion of the film by focusing on Ruth’s growing connections with Seretse’s sister and the women of her new country, but it never really clicks and too often feels perfunctory. The film starts to sag and develops a plodding pace as it works through a litany of events. While the end is satisfying, by the time it reaches it, much of the energy has been drained from the film.
It sometimes feels as if the director and screenwriter had differing visions for this film. Asante’s romantic, emotional approach to a historical subject, which worked so well in BELLE, does not seem to mesh with Hibbert’s more procedural script, an approach that worked marvelously in the thriller EYE IN THE SKY.
A UNITED KINGDOM is a great story, a story with an important message, and one wants this film to be as great as its story. While it does not always reach that mark, it is a crowd-pleasing film whose inspiring story of love against all odds and tale of a little nation standing up a bigger one might be enough for many audiences to forgive any shortcomings.
RATING: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars
