Seretse Khama
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Feb 10, 2017 · For a movie about two people who loved each other so deeply, they risked losing everything to be together—their families, homes, even their countries—“A United Kingdom” plays it frustratingly safe. Based on the true story of the former king of Botswana and the British woman whose marriage in the late 1940s caused an international uproar ...
Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review toby h A United Kingdom is a political romance that shows love prevails. Oyelowo and Pike are outstanding as Seretse and Ruth.
- (163)
- Amma Asante
- PG-13
- David Oyelowo
A United Kingdom is remarkably dry and clichéd and fails to find much depth in this story that defied one kingdom and united another. Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 1, 2018. Molly ...
- An unabashedly romantic depiction of the biracial love story that tested the strength of an entire nation.
- Verdict
By Alex Welch
Posted: Feb 10, 2017 9:11 pm
There’s a difficult tonal tightrope being walked on at the heart of A United Kingdom, the new film from Amma Asante, based on the real life relationship between Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) and Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike). Beginning in London in 1947, we meet Khama while he’s studying law in Oxford, listening to jazz in classy social clubs and preparing to take over the throne of Bechuanaland from his uncle (Vusi Kunene), who’s been serving as regent over the kingdom in Seretse’s absence. Everything is going according to plan until he meets Ruth one night, connecting with her over their shared love of jazz and undeniable chemistry.
Falling in love is the last thing either of them need, but still they spend their nights walking through London into the hours of the early morning until Seretse finally proposes to Ruth, asking her to go back to Bechuanaland with him as his wife. She instantly agrees as the two begin making preparations for their wedding, but there’s only one problem: he’s black and she’s white. Both of their families disapprove, with Ruth’s father threatening to completely disown her at the news, and Seretse’s uncle trying to force him to abdicate the throne should he move forward with his marriage to Ruth.
Many accuse them both of being selfish for seemingly putting their own needs over those of their nation - causing political trouble more costly than if they simply separated from each other. We, as viewers, might agree with those accusations, had Asante, Pike, Oyelowo, and screenwriter Guy Hibbert not acknowledged how inimitable their relationship was. It was the kind that comes along only once in a lifetime, and one that both Seretse and Ruth acutely acknowledge is worth enduring even the most difficult of suffering for. So they stay together, even when it seems like their neighboring African nations and all of the British government are working to try and tear them apart.
To be fair, it’s not the fact that Ruth and Seretse’s marriage is a biracial one that raises the ire of both the people of Bechuanaland and the British government. Hibbert’s script even goes out of its way to explain that, in fact, the reason their marriage caused quite a stir in the United Kingdom was more of a political one. Bechuanaland - a British protectorate - is just a stone’s throw away from South Africa, which at the time of Ruth and Seretse’s courtship was in the midst of continuing to implement the racist laws of apartheid throughout the entirety of the nation. If Britain then looked like it supported Ruth and Seretse being together, it could mean the country losing all access to South Africa’s resources, including its gold, minerals, diamonds, and most importantly, uranium.
Rosamund Pike and David Oyelowo’s performances in A United Kingdom keep the film together through all of its twisty political intrigue, grounding the film with a relationship that makes you understand why it was worth risking everything for.
- Alex Welch
A United Kingdom: Directed by Amma Asante. With David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Tom Felton, Jack Davenport. The story of King Seretse Khama of Botswana and how his loving but controversial marriage to a British white woman, Ruth Williams, put his kingdom into political and diplomatic turmoil.
- (17K)
- Biography, Drama, History
- Amma Asante
- 2017-02-10
Sep 9, 2016 · ‘A United Kingdom’: Film Review | TIFF 2016. David Oyelowo portrays African king Seretse Khama and Rosamund Pike his English wife in director Amma Asante’s political-romantic drama 'A United ...
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Feb 10, 2017 · Our review: Parents say (3 ): Kids say (3 ): This is a beautifully filmed drama about a fascinating, important time in history. But A United Kingdom, while certainly worth a watch -- especially for Oyelowo's and Pike's excellent performances -- is somewhat hobbled by its attachment to linear storytelling and telling, rather than showing. The ...
