Antebellum

This film had a clear message, and I believe it's mediocre rating is solely because many people weren't ready to see it. Great plot twist, kept me interested, great acting, exceptional cinematography.. it's not necessarily a "must see", but it's definitely not as terrible as the majority of reviews make it out to be.

When I saw the trailer of this movie, I thought it was going to be a weird horror movie that is fun to watch. But when I watched the movie, it was so much different. There isn't any horror in it. Its not a bad movie but it's not what I expected. They're were literally people walking out of the cinema because they expected something different.

Its a fine movie to watch. But not cinema worthy. There's no horror in it. Its not a scary movie just violent in the way slavery.

Why didn't the writer and production team spend more time developing this story? This movie had the potential to be very interesting .One that would of been a must see, but it falls short. At first I was intrigued as well as excited,but as the movie shifted to the last part I started to get a sense of where it was heading. It just was not as clever as I had thought it would be. It is missing so much of the story and creative elements that you are left wanting. The ending twist is revealed so quickly, it makes the twist stupid. If it would of been presented in a different way it may have changed my impressions. I will say it is visually appealing but that doesn't make up for the substance it lacks. I will tell you truly the last thoughts and feeling I had when the ending credits started was "What it is over, where is the rest?" Followed by a feeling of thorough disappointment. So in short the movie starts of interesting and ends with you feeling disenchanted and let down.

Antebellum tells the remarkable story of Eden, a slave on a plantation somewhere in America. It also chronicles events in the life of a successful modern-day author called Veronica. As the film progresses, the connection between these two storylines becomes clear, and that's about all I can say about the plot.

THE POSITIVES

One of the biggest strengths of the flick, is a masterful hand behind the camera. Gorgeous cinematography, guided by thoughtful direction, bring as much emotional impact to the film as the stellar performances do. The structural editing on display here, is a showcase of the profound understanding the filmmakers have of the narrative. The film is filled to the brim with subtle visual setups that have satisfying pay-offs at the end. The opening scene is one of the most gripping collection of images, I've seen all year. It was an absolute treat to discover that the final sequence reaches the same impactfull heights but with a very different connotation. I can't stress enough how the technical aspects of Antebellum are Oscarworthy. cinematography, lighting, production design and costume design are in a league of their own. They all work together to truly make the performances shine.

THE NEGATIVES

Unfortunately, the film undoes a lot of the greatness within itself, as the flick goes along. The underlying message is anything but underlying. It rather weighs down heavily on the audience and is often times spelled out to the letter. All of the striking, brutal imagery, is somehow negated by heavy-handed pandering to an agenda, I don't even disagree with. An almost comedic over the top female villain who is in sharp contrast with some bold, grounded performances by other antagonists, offers nothing more than frustration. I truly want to love this film more than it allows me to.

THE VERDICT

Antebellum is composed out of a collection of striking images that showcase craftsmanship in front and behind the camera. Its brutal, grounded and thoughtful imagery is undermined however, by a painfully, spelled out message that comes across as pandering more often than not.

I like the concept of this movie. I know that some people would say this is not a horror. I don't want to spoil the film so I'm not going to say much. However being a black woman myself, I would say hell yeah this is a horror to me. Definitely worth watching, be open minded.