An inspiring walk to freedom

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Starring: Idris Elba, Naomie Harris
Rated: 7/10
Indeed, it was a long, long walk to freedom — but the length of this more than remarkable journey undertaken by South Africa’s iconic Nelson Mandela is so inspiring that time flies past in wonderment. Moreso, when you see it unfolding on the big screen through the towering performance of Idris Elba who gives the requisite weight and dignity to Mandela’s on-screen persona.
But for his height which was some inches above the real Mandela, Idris is faultless to perfection. His diction, his poise and his measured dialogues and body language are as stalwart as Madiba was all through his eventful life.
Director Justin Chadwick has been meticulous with his subject, lending the icon not just power through his political journey but also through his most private moments which brought him to Winnie Mandela, played stunningly by Naomie Harris. Her arresting portrayal of activism, love, anger, hatred and inclination to violence is as awesome as Mandela’s trajectory of being a successful lawyer to political forays to underground violence to 27-years of imprisonment to him shunning violence and then raising a toast to statesmanship and global awe.
The ambience and dialogues are equally arresting. “I haven’t touched my wife in 21 years,” a 70-plus Madiba tells his white jailor. “What they’ve done to her is their only victory,” a near-broken Mandela says about the White establishment after separating from Winnie on ideology issues.
There are many more of them that take the journey with Idris and all of them make this one an involved fare to watch. 
Source: Sunday Pioneer, 26 January, 2014

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