Despite only lasting four years of America’s 244 years in existence, the Confederacy continues to be passionately remembered by many who wish they could still legally own black people. Whether they celebrate those beliefs through parades, cross burning gatherings, or civil war reenactment weekends, there is a very real movement that romanticizes a time when slavery was acceptable in America. This toxic nostalgia is rarely subtle. Likewise, “Antebellum” presents a not-so-subtle horror story of what I imagine some deep-seeded racists wish they could pull off in real life.
Janelle Monáe crushes her role as the revered author and public speaker, Veronica Henley. Disgusted by her success, a white supremacist group plots to dethrone her from her moderate celebrity status and put her in her place on a plantation. From the producer of “Get Out” and “Us,” two vastly superior and more subtle films for sure, “Antebellum” doesn’t waste it’s time beating around the bush. Five seconds on any modern social media platform like Twitter, and you’ll easily find the personality types that the villains of this movie are inspired by. The film presents a hypothetical reality in which racists, instead of participating in pro-Confederate flag NASCAR rallies, could afford to buy enough private property to recreate their own slavery fantasy. Have you always longed to abuse, rape, and kill a black person like they did in the ‘good old days’ of the South? This would be your Disneyland.
While the film isn’t as clever as Jordan Peele’s recent sci-fi/horror reflections of modern day racism, that doesn’t mean “Antebellum” is any less compelling. The film rides on Janelle’s talented ability to sell her character as a strong, independent, and outspoken individual who is stripped of every personal freedom an individual could have. At a quick hour and forty-five minutes, the film doesn’t have room for much exposition or filler. Instead, the movie clips along with fairly tight writing and not a lot of downtime to say the least. Accented by some stellar cinematography as well as a score that can be quite exquisite at times, “Antebellum” certainly doesn’t lack the necessary ingredients for a fulfilling feature.
While I didn’t rush out to see this film, my interest had been piqued since the first trailers. I’m a big fan of Monáe, and I certainly enjoy when a film that doesn’t hold back punches that some would consider too politically sensitive. A similar recent film that comes to mind would be 2020’s “The Hunt”, which also lacked subtlety, though clearly that was on purpose. The number one gripe that I have heard about “Antebellum” would be that the film is way too on the nose and over the top. Had this movie been made to compete with drama greats like “12 Years a Slave” or “Amistad”, I would completely agree with that assessment. However, it was beyond clear to me that the harsh and excessive tone of this film was purposefully produced to reflect the equally extreme racist radicals of today. Personally, I thought the film could have been longer, allowing certain themes to have more time to breathe. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy the film and would give 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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Victims and Villains is written Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey (and produced by), Caless Davis, Dan Rockwood, & Brandon Miller. Music by Mallory Johnson and others. Antebellum is property of Universal Pictures. We do not own nor claim any rights. This review was edited by Cam Smith. Antellbellum is now available on VOD and Digital now!
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