Yes, Will Smith is still under some scrutiny for his assault against Chris Rock at the Oscars, but that doesn’t mean that his latest movie should face the same amount of criticism and, in all honesty, Smith does a bang-up job with this particular film that Apple TV+ has released.
Smith portrays Peter, a slave who is separated from his family, and is forced to work building a railroad and attempts to escape, when the slave masters have their guard down, to Baton Rouge where he gets work as a Union soldier and receives his freedom, eventually, reuniting with his family, in the process.
Looking closely, it seems that director Antoine Fuqua decided to mute the colors to add to the bleakness of slavery in the 1860s. His stylish and admirable cinematography makes it seem that the camera can go anywhere at any given time like a Robert Zemeckis film.
Moreover, Will Smith probably gives one of the best performances of his career that outmatches even the likes of King Richard. Smith transforms into the role of Peter and he wages a crusade against his evil, malevolent masters and the South. His plight almost reminds me of Leonardo Dicaprio’s work as Hugh Glass in 2015’s The Revenant.
Smith embraces the first and gruffness of the character and his raw emotion shines through with visceral intent and audacious fervor. The beauty doesn’t lie in just the film’s gorgeous cinematography, but more so in Smith, who commands the screen with every waking minute that he’s on.
Even as he speaks, you can hear the pain and suffering that this man has endured. Every crack in his voice, every breath that he takes and every tear that descends from his eyelids are a beautiful facsimile of what Smith was trying to capture for the character that the film was inspired by. It’s very clear that this man knew what the assignment was and he knew it well.
With that being said, Will Smith definitely deserves a second chance in Hollywood and we need to give it to him.
