Directed by: Amma Asante
Starring: David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Jack Davenport, Vusi Kunene, Tom Felton, Terry Pheto, Laura Carmichael
Based on a true story (we all know by now dramatic liberties will be taken), A United Kingdom tells a story in which, sadly, is still relevant and timely 70 years after it happened. In the film, Seretse Khama (Oyelowo) is a tribal king in the African land now known as Botswana. While being educated in England, he meets, falls for, and marries working-class white woman Ruth Williams (Pike) against the wishes of his family, the UK, and much of his people. Besides the obvious issue of miscegenation, there are politically-inspired objections as well. Botswana's (let's call it that even though it wasn't named so in 1947) southerly neighbor South Africa is a valued UK ally and sanctioning this mixed marriage might cause tension due to South Africa's new apartheid policy.
A United Kingdom's best parts involve not the romance or the marriage, but the political gamesmanship played by the UK, Seretse's uncle (Kunene), and Seretse himself. He wishes to rule and improve the lives of his people, while the UK (under which the nation is ruled) banishes Seretse for five years with an option to make the banishment permanent. If you consider his native land is riddled with drought, poverty, and malaria, while his banishment involves living in relative comfort in England; one would assume this isn't a bad arrangement. But, Seretse wants to improve the lives of the people he loves, even if they don't necessarily love him at the moment.
Oyelowo played Martin Luther King in Selma (2014), which I felt was a movie in which speeches took the place of real human drama. Oyelowo was convincing in Selma and is aptly noble, altruistic, and intelligent here. Pike is wide-eyed and loves her husband, while not naïve about the obstacles she will face as the white queen of a land of black subjects. Both Oyelowo and Pike are good actors, but their love is given short shrift against the backdrop of England's colonial politics. India's 1947 independence provides some historical subtext. Botswana would gain its independence in 1966 with Seretse elected as its first President.
The men who act as the most outward villains are both fictional, so I've learned, and do everything they can to prevent Seretse from ruling. As played by Jack Davenport and Tom Felton, they are appropriately hateful, pompous, and sneering. There is satisfaction achieved when they receive their comeuppance, which owes more to movie drama than real life. But, it is satisfactory nonetheless.
A United Kingdom mostly works because it is able to anger us as we recognize the parallels which in some parts of society still exist. We don't necessarily feel the earth-shattering love and passion between Seretse and Ruth necessary to defy a nation, but they are still a valuable symbol of those who are subjected to prejudice, fear, misinformation, and racism.
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