Cry Freedom **** (1987, Kevin Kline, Penelope Wilton, Denzel Washington) – Classic Movie Review 5758

Producer-director Richard Attenborough’s stirring and important social conscience 1987 real-life thriller stars Kevin Kline as Donald Woods, chief editor of the liberal newspaper Daily Dispatch, who is forced to escape from South Africa with his family after probing the death in police custody in jail of his black activist friend Steve Biko. He writes a book about him, but needs to escape the country illegally to get it published.

Lord Attenborough’s main successes are with the acting and the rousing crowd scenes in a film that is very nicely shot in widescreen by Ronnie Taylor and handsomely designed by Stuart Craig. Kline, Penelope Wilton as his wife Wendy, and Oscar-nominated Denzel Washington as Biko are superb.

John Briley’s screenplay does tend to dawdle and lecture, sometimes lacking urgency and a naturally easy fluency, and has a problem integrating its serious message with the thriller entertainment. Nevertheless it sheds valuable light on apartheid and it is fascinating as a personal drama.

As usual, Attenborough cannot be faulted for his ambition and goodwill. It is a good and important story, well told, doing justice to its themes and subjects.

It is an adult drama with harrowing scenes.

It runs 158 minutes and the US TV movie version adds another 23 minutes of footage to make it a real epic.

Also in the cast are Alex McCowen , Kevin McNally, Zakes Mokae, John Thaw, Timothy West, Juanita Waterman, John Hargreaves, Ian Richardson, Miles Anderson, and Kate Hardie as Jane Woods.

On a $29,000,000 budget, it took only $5,900,000 in the US – a crying shame.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5758

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