Self-conscious and uncomfortable it is on A United Kingdom, the new Amma Asante film which concentrates on the true story of the marriage of Botswana’s first president. Starting off in London in 1947, we meet Khama, who is studying in Oxford and working at social clubs listening to jazz in preparation for averting the throne of Bechuanaland, his uncle (Vusi Kunene) who has been a regent to the kingdom in Seretse’s absence. All events are developing very smoothly until one night, Ruth and Seretse come across each other, bonding over the jazz music and instantly falling in love.
With their feelings completely mutual and thus falling in love being the last thing either of them needs, they London themselves till the wee hours of the night as it happened with Seretse, who asked Ruth to be his wife and accompany him back to Bechuanaland. Without any delay they start to plan their wedding, but there is one problem: he is black, she is white. They tell that both of their families are against it. One state last witnessed: Ruth’s father would irritate for completely ending all grants after hearing the news, Seretse’s uncle would incite him renouncing the crown if he ever pursues marriage to Ruth.
They have been denigrated as self-centered for putting their personal goals ahead of national interests as well as provoking political situations that are worse than if they just went their separate ways. If there are great filmmakers such as Asante, Pike, Oyelowo and the screenwriter Guy Hibbert we would concur with such allegations, which thankfully, they did not. It was the sort a person experiences in a lifetime, though both Seretse and Ruth realize it is a type of adoration that is worth even the worst of pains. They do not break up even if it appears all the other countries in Africa and the entire British Government are trying to work to separate them.
In all honesty, leaving aside the fact that Ruth and Seretse are intermarried, it is not so much this fact that before, angers both the citizens of Bechuanaland and the authorities of the British government. Hibbert’s script even dares to mention that quite the opposite of what people thought, what raised eyebrows in the UK when they got married was more of a political factor than love. Bechuanaland – a British protectorate – was literally a breath away from South Africa, where Ruth and Seretse were courting at the height of Catseye’s Rule of White Oppression. So if atleast Britain as it were, seemed to be supporting Ruth and Seretse this time round, it would mean the country losing most if not all , access to the beleaguered country’s treasures of gold , minerals, diamonds and far worse, Uranium.
A turbulent family saga spanning thirty odd years is what follows in which Seretse and Ruth not only struggle to preserve their family, but they also struggle to draw the country of Bechuanaland together as both the colonial authorities and his uncle do all they can to stop him from becoming the king of the country. Political games of that sort, and A United Kingdom was constructed with the help of such elements ending up rather predictable love story along with a lot of issues including, well, political, could have probably turned A United Kingdom into miserable soap opera where in the end everything simply failed because there was too much.
But Asante keeps a firm grip on the film, ensuring that enough time is given to establish the intensity and the purity of Ruth and Seretse’s love before the harsh aspects of politics and betrayal, that came in their way in the coming years, are introduced. Romance is the foundation of A United Kingdom, politics is simply the flowers that grow from the tree, each bloom interesting in its own right.
The only character flaws with A United Kingdom seem to be from hibbert’s script which the viewer does not remember even after seeing the inner meaning of everything in the film and living the personal and political lives of its two characters with surprising comfort and striking brevity. A United Kingdom is such a film that remains reticent all through the entire show with minor bursts of energy when required towards the ending of the film.
Special praise must go to David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike in the performances that happen mostly when it is Seretse who is on the dais addressing the Bechuanaland audience. Firing on all cylinders in every scene the surprising intensity and passion from his portrayal as MLK in selma is unnoticeable, even though his on-screen character is a politically romantic man by the name Seretse, his focus on the freedom of his nation never waiver.
The spatial portrayals of Ruth, especially in the character played by Pike, show some measure of restraint, more so through her body language whereby the smalltown girl in Ruth chooses to mentally and physically cower at the politicians and the public who surround her at the start of the film. It is satisfying to the viewer to see how the character who has begun garnering the confidence required to rule alongside her husband sits upright and appears more proud than before, as though she is finally ready to stake her claim in the world, rather than hiding herself. The same can be said for the rest of A United Kingdom, which finds its strength and confidence the further into its story it gets at the same exact places where a lesser film might have lost its way.
The Verdict
A United Kingdom would not be the same without the performances of Rosamund Pike and David Oyelowo, which throughout the film enables you to grasp the political disagreements, their plot twists and turns as well as the other unnecessary conflicts around this epic narrative, all in favor of a love story you understand is worth all the stakes.
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