 Amazing Grace
One man's role in the long battle to outlaw slavery in the United Kingdom sets the stage for this historical drama from director Michael Apted. In 1784, 21-year-old William Wilberforce was elected to the British House of Commons, and soon established himself as a politician with a conscience. Several years later, his close friend William Pitt became prime minister, and together they made a bold plan to introduce a bill banning slavery before the English legislature. Wilberforce was aided by anti-slavery activists Olaudah Equiano and Thomas Clarkson; however, pro-slavery hard-liners Lord Tarleton and Duke of Clarence spearheaded a hard-fought opposition to the legislation, and despite Wilberforce's best effects, his bill went down in defeat. In 1797, Wilberforce left politics due to poor health and a battered spirit; staying at the country home of his friends Henry and Marianne Thornton and Sylvestra Le Touzel, he became aquainted with Barbara Spooner, a beautiful woman with progressive views. Spooner became deeply infatuated with Wilberforce, and she encouraged him not to give up on his noble goals; with her help, Wilberforce launched a second campaign to persuade England's lawmakers to end the slave trade.
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