“Amazing Grace” (***1/2/5) by Boo Allen, Rated PG, 111 minutes

Everyone knows the haunting hymn, but “Amazing Grace,” the movie, documents a noble man’s long, arduous struggle to rectify history’s greatest social injustice.
Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd (“Fantastic Four,” “King Arthur”) plays late eighteenth century British abolitionist William Wilberforce. Long a conscientious believer in human, and animal, rights, Wilberforce begins and intensifies his fight against slavery partly because of the influence of the monkish John Newton (Albert Finney), a former slave ship captain who later repented of his former occupation and went on to pen the familiar anthem of the title.
Director Michael Apted (the “7 Up” series) stays focused on Wilberforce--how he first learned of the on-going plight of the slaves and their horrible slave-ship conditions, and how he subsequently and persistently petitioned the British House of Commons to abolish slavery.
The pious yet humble Wilberforce takes a journey with numerous turns, including a romance and marriage with Barbara Spooner (Romola Garai, “Scoop”), who was well aware of Wilberforce’s reputation when they met. Apted also fully examines Wilberforce’s symbiotic relationship with Prime Minister-to-be William Pitt the Younger (Benedict Cumberbatch). Some give as much credit for the movement’s success to Thomas Clarkson (Rufus Sewell) as to Wilberforce, and he also receives partial due here.
Knowing when slavery was abolished in the British Empire (1833) doesn’t diminish the urgency of Apted’s well executed Parliamentary scenes. Abolitionists regularly faced off against the mercenary capitalists, ably represented by a uniformly fine cast of Ciaran Hinds, Michael Gambon, Toby Jones, William Paterson, and others.
While insisting on the prevailing rights of property, the high-handed group somehow maintained the state of slavery, thwarting the abolitionist forces until a devious end-run by James Stephen (Stephen Campbell Moore). Historians can testify as to whether this maneuver is how the affair finally played out, but it works well enough for cinematic drama.
“Amazing Grace” is that most cherished of history lessons, that which goes down easily, informs and educates, is entertaining, inspirational, and also uplifts the spirits by knowing that sometimes, however long it takes, the right side prevails.