‘Emancipation’ review: A powerhouse Will Smith lifts the wobbly Apple TV+ action thriller
“Emancipation” tries to juggle, with mixed results, an assortment of genres: survival thriller, action adventure and Civil War epic. Yet it mainly works, due to a quietly powerful performance from Will Smith as an enslaved man just trying to get home.
There is a Homeric quality to director Antoine Fuqua’s film (★★½ out of four; rated R; in theaters now and streaming on Apple TV+ Friday), which takes the well-known 1863 photograph of “Whipped Peter” – showing the scarred and mutilated back of a Black soldier serving in the Union army – and creates a fictionalized, often brutal journey of faith and fortitude. The heart of the matter gets lost amid the action-movie elements – with shades of “The Revenant” and “Glory” – though a dedicated Smith emotionally steadies the film through its rougher spots.
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The story is set after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation when hundreds of thousands of Black people had to wait for the North to liberate them or take their freedom themselves. Learning that enslaved men are heading for Baton Rouge, where Lincoln’s army is located, Peter pulls off a risky escape with a few others. But they’re pursued through the swamps by vicious “manhunter” Jim Fassel (Ben Foster), whose prejudice is born from shame and fear. He’s not the only problem, however: Peter also encounters natural obstacles such as bees, leeches, snakes and one very hungry alligator.
Armed with uncanny survival skills, Peter meets Andrew Cailloux (Mustafa Shakir) and becomes part of his all-Black regiment of Union soldiers, but never sets aside his larger mission.
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Smith’s strong performance shores up missing pieces of character development, which is an issue overall for “Emancipation.” We know what kind of man Peter is, yet we don’t really get to know him: how he knows to put honey on a gnarly wound or rub onion on himself to get dogs off his trail. So much of the film is spent on the chase or war scenes that at key times it becomes more about the action than the man at the center.
learned racism and systemic prejudice.
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“Emancipation” truly finds itself when it digs into the thoughts, feelings and beliefs of Smith’s character as he trades barbs with Foster’s Fassel, has a discussion about God and slavery with a fellow prisoner or stands up to a dismissive military man who questions his fight.
It’s been quite a year for the actor, from winning an Oscar to the aftermath of “The Slap,” but at least he ends 2022 with a strong reminder of his talent. Sure, there are little glimpses of Smith, the charming movie star. But it’s his commitment to capturing the authenticity and agony of the struggle by Peter (and those like him) that stays with you the most.