Emancipation is a dark historical drama about the cruel institution of slavery. And Will Smith fights an alligator with his bare hands. That sums up the tenor of the first reviews quite well.
Smith’s first film since beating comedian Chris Rock on the Oscars stage suffers from the contradiction between an extremely serious subject and spectacular staging. But what exactly is being criticized? And how is Smith’s performance rated?
The story of Emancipation was inspired by a world famous photograph
In Emancipation, Will Smith plays the enslaved Peter who flees a plantation in Louisiana to join Union troops during the American Civil War. A hunt begins.
This story is inspired by an 1863 photograph showing a former slave’s back, furrowed by whipping. The unforgettable image of “Whipped Peter” was used in the abolitionist movement to illustrate the horrors of that system.
That’s what the critics say about the new Will Smith movie
In the Variety critique, Emancipation is called “sometimes almost unbearable to look at” described:
to see how black men chained and beatenhaving their limbs ripped apart by dogs and any form of resistance met with a bullet to the head or back will cause the audience to close their eyes, cry, or both.
Will Smith’s rendition of “Whipped Peter”. “ultra-focused and unusually reserved” for the actor in the “crunchy, tough manhunt movie”.
At Empire, three out of five stars are awarded for Emancipation:
Emancipation can replace the worn-out building blocks of slavery stories do not bypass, or show a particularly original perspective. [Der Film] is at its best when it tackles other narrative elements—and when it focuses on Will Smith’s exceptional, discreet performance concentrated.
Let’s get to alligator. Several reviews mention a scene in which Peter wrestles an alligator (which, like much of the film, is not historically attested). In the rather negative review on IndieWire it is described as follows:
[Der Film] forces Will Smith into one Knife fight with an alligator in a scene that all the more ridiculous because it’s made up of some of the most stunning underwater monochrome footage since The Night of the Hunter.
The Hollywood Reporter calls Emancipation as disappointing “Oscar Bait” summarized:
[Regisseur Antoine] Fuqua’s natural knack for action is most evident when Peter battles the elements or his captors. The quieter, more dramatic parts would have one though more subtle approach demanded than the director of Training Day can provide. When will Emancipation with Will Smith stream in Germany?
Emancipation became exclusive to the streaming service AppleTV+ produced. From the December 9, 2022 it is available there in Germany – just in time for the Oscar season, which is currently in full swing.
At the moment, however, Will Smith is not counting on any great chances. Which is primarily due to his behavior at the last award. Smith was also recognized for King Richard at the same ceremony. Only twice in the history of the Oscars has an actor won the Best Actor Oscar in consecutive years, and that was for Spencer Tracy and Tom Hanks.
Podcast: The 10 best films coming to Netflix and Co. in 2022
Before the streaming year ends, we bring you another 10 upcoming titles we’re most excited about in 2022.
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In this installment of the Moviepilot podcast Stream Gefluer we talk about Guillermo del Toro’s dark new version of Pinocchio, the Will Smith comeback Emancipation, the Knives Out sequel Glass Onion with Daniel Craig and the horror hype Barbarian, among others.