Thoughts : Antebellum (2020)
I’ve been intrigued about Antebellum since trailers for it began to pop up prior to COVID-19′s decimation of the theater industry. My father used to pitch an idea to me of a slave and a modern day man who somehow find themselves switching places, so it made me excited to see that this concept may be getting its chance to find life. After waiting patiently, the film recently popped up on Hulu, giving me the opportunity to finally see it, and I certainly wasn’t ready for the wild ride I signed up for.
On a Louisiana plantation, Eli (Tongayi Chirisa) watches as his wife attempts to run away, but she is captured and killed in front of him. Overseer Jasper (Jack Huston) not only punishes Eli in front of the other slaves, but he later punishes Eden (Janelle Monáe) in private for her part in the act by beating her, whipping her and branding her. Six weeks later, a new group of slaves arrives, including a pregnant woman named Julia (Kiersey Clemons). Due to her pregnancy, Julia requests Eden’s assistance in an escape attempt, but after Eden turns her down with a warning to bide her time and keep her head down, Julia attempts to confide in a young Confederate Soldier named Daniel (Robert Aramayo) who requests to bed her, but Julia is swiftly punished and beaten. After Eli is later forced to clean the crematorium where his wife was burned, a sudden shift in perspective brings Eden into the modern world as Veronica Henley, a young woman married to Nick Henley (Marque Richardson) with a young daughter named Kennedi (London Bryce). Veronica travels for a speaking engagement at a fancy conference, but after a night on the town with friends and colleagues Dawn (Gabourey Sidibe) and Sarah (Lily Cowles), an earlier strange encounter with a mysterious woman named Elizabeth (Jena Malone) leads Veronica down a disjointing and perplexing path.
The severity of the plantation context is not only an immediate mood-setter, but it contextualizes Eden/Veronica as a victim of systematic oppression, which we later learn flies directly in the face of her intellectual background and personal drive. With her main stated desire being a deconstruction and reformation of the patriarchy, then the most logical nightmare to insert her into would be that of a slave who faces assaults of a physical and sexual nature. While the difference of perceived danger is made clearly evident by paralleling the two existences, the very real danger and repercussions of plantation life are not used to minimalize the struggles of being a woman with agency in the modern day, but rather they are used as a way to show the proportional scale these existences share in terms of the removal of a woman’s agency. Even if the additional subtext of the William Faulkner and Assata Shakur quotes were not present in the film, the displays of Elizabeth and Sarah’s privilege as white women, or the way that Veronica is held on a pedestal rather than as an equal to her peers, serve to show that women have often been the ones left out of sweeping and revolutionary change.
That being said, it’s not very hard to see why this film was such a divisive one amongst audiences and critics. For those unfamiliar with or unwilling to accept America’s violent and tragic history with Black men and women, the plantation setting would be confusing in regards to a horror vehicle, and directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz spend little to no time providing viewers with a shorthand or background in regards to how things operate in that world. The lines are further blurred when it is made deeply unclear when and where we are in terms of a larger timeline and location, as the fear that would normally be associated with the captivity and bleak existentialism of slavery is turned on its head in order to apply to the context it is used in the film (which I hope I have not spoiled in my attempts to remain vague).
The writing on the film is strong, as it finds a way to bridge a dark and complicated part of the American past with the generational trauma it is responsible for without having to rely on narrative tropes or movie magic. As a location, the plantation stands as a momentous star of the film, making its presence felt through its sheer size and bleakness of potential outcomes. The scoring used for the plantation sequences has a high theatricality to it, helping to ratchet up the fever-pitch inducing tension. While a mostly general color pallet is used throughout, it is drenched in a world of eventual darkness where only the reds and oranges are allowed to stand out. The big budget cinematography helps add to the larger than life nature the film builds up and maintains.
Top to bottom, this film is filled with strong performances, but first and foremost Janelle Monáe must be recognized for her dignity, quiet strength and fierce drive she exhibits as the protagonist of the film. Jena Malone matches her energy as antagonist, though I would have liked to see a bit more of her in the film. Jack Huston, Eric Lange and Robert Aramayo balance the savageness of superiority with hints that things may not be quite what they seem in the world presented. Tongayi Chirisa displays the pain of loss and the unchecked aggression that comes with wanting to free yourself from captivity to a strong degree, while by comparison, Kiersey Clemons exhibits the desperation and eventual fear that comes with defeat in the face of hopelessness. Nick Henley provides a loving foundation along with the innocence of London Bryce, while Gabourey Sidibe and Lily Cowles stand strong as Monáe’s support system. Arabella Landrum, Achok Majak, T.C. Matherne and a number of others step if for supporting roles.
The reviews and thoughts I heard on Antebellum could not have been more mixed, but in my opinion, the film definitely lives up to the hype it presented in its promotional material. Films like these are not only taken in the best when expectations are set aside, but also when there is a lack of knowledge about the specific story as well, as these two steps will provide the most rewarding viewer experience.
