The Birth of a Nation (2016)

My Review

“The Birth of a Nation” is historic drama movie centered on the story of Nat Turner, a Black slave who led a rebellion against slave owners in Virginia in 1831. Director-screenwriter Nate Parker vividly depicted Turner’s upbringing in the plantation lifestyle, with his education and role as a Christian minister. He witnessed numerous atrocities towards slaves in this period which led to the famous bloody rebellion. With this project, Nate Parker reclaims the title of the 1915 film “The Birth of a Nation” from director D. W. Griffith, which glorified the Kl Klux Klan.

The cast includes Nate Parker in the lead role of Nat Turner, Armie Hammer as slave owner Samuel Turner, Penelope Ann Miller as Turner’s mother, Mark Boone Junior as Rev. Walthall, Aja Naomi King as Mrs. Cherry Turner, Gabrielle Union as a victim of sexual assault, Colman Domingo as Nat’s best friend, Jack Earl Haley as the slave patrol captain, and Esther Scott as Nat’s grandmother, who taught him how to read and write. “The Birth of a Nation” was a major box office flop for Mandalay Pictures, Bron Studios, and Fox Searchlight Pictures. It was filmed entirely in Georgia.