ANTEBELLUM
US, 2020, 103 minutes, Colour.
Janelle Monae, Eric Lange, Tongayi Chirisa, Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Keirsey Clemons, Marque Richardson, Robert Aramayo, Gaby Sibouore.
Directed by Gerard Bush, Christopher Renz.
Antebellum rings with that sound of the old American south, the spirit of the South before the Civil War.
This film goes in quite some unexpected directions.
For the first half hour, it is a re-creation of life on a plantation, the descendants of the African slaves, still in slavery, picking the cotton, living in rather squalid conditions, sternly supervised as they work in the fields, verbally abused, severely punished if they run away and are re-captured. One of the main supervisors is Captain Jasper, a cruel man played by Jack Huston. His arrogantly snobbish wife is played by Jenna Malone. There is also the general, played by Eric Lange, who dominates the men, urges them to patriotic spirit, the Confederate spirit, to win the war and preserve the South. There are quite a number of soldiers present, dining with the General, ready to keep law and order.
We see a female slave return to the plantation, tortured and shot. There are quite a number of women slaves, working in the fields, waiting at the tables, but also to be made available to the men after the meal. One slave, Edan, is the possession of general. Another slave, brought from North Carolina to Louisiana, is made available to the young soldiers. Desperate, she hangs herself.
And then, we are suddenly in the 21st-century, an affluent home, an academic, Veronica, about to go to a conference on the status of women. She is an expert, has published. She has a devoted husband and child. We are hundred and sixty years on from the Civil War. This is a very different United States – or is it? Veronica has a successful conference – but, there are hints of racism from the concierge at the hotel, she and her friends being placed at the table near the entrance to the kitchen… On the whole, Veronica and her friends live a very comfortable life.
Veronica is played by Janelle Monae. She has woken up to a nightmare where she is Edan.
It would be too much of a spoiler in a review to say anything more about the remainder of the film except to say that it is surprising, dramatic, melodramatic, quite disturbing to the audience.
But, for a film released in 2020, it is very much in the vein of Black Lives Matter. It is a condemnation of those who have preserve the racist attitudes of the past – where white supremacist violence can erupt. There is a critique of theme parks and those popular re-enactments of battles and events in the Civil War, dressing up, uniforms, weapons, seen as preserving and legitimising the racism.
It would be interesting to know more how Antebellum was received in the United States and the effect on audiences. For audiences outside the United States, it is quite a jolting and unsettling experience.
1. The United States before the Civil War? The homesteads and plantations, slavery?
2. The settings, the old South, Louisiana, the plantation, the slave quarters? The contrast with the 21st-century, homes and apartments, conferences, hotels? The musical score?
3. The first 30 minutes and be atmosphere, the recreation of the South, the conditions of the slaves, cotton picking, accommodation? The treatment? The supervisors, Capt Jasper, Senator Denton? The atmosphere of the South, the Civil War, the Confederates, the troops, uniforms, weapons? The gathering for the meals? The women as servants, available for sexual encounters? The attitude of the military?
4. The drama of the slave being returned, the man pleading, Capt Jasper and his shooting the woman? Eden, interned, tortured, her role of supervision, the young slave from North Carolina, pregnant, desperation, hanging herself?
5. The young soldiers, Daniel, seeming refined, his companion urging him on, the young girl, his going to the room, her response, his gradually turning violent? Later seeing him and his companion searching for slaves in the cornfields?
6. The sudden transition to the 21st-century? Veronica waking? Her husband and the bond, her daughter, her devotion? Affluence, her PhD, the television interviews, her books? Her travelling to the conference? The treatment by the hotel concierge? The later table near the kitchen door? Her speech, women, the acclaim from the crowd, buying her books? Her friendship with Dawn and Sarah? The meal, the waiter? The exhilaration, talk – 21st-century liberated style?
7. Veronica, in the cab, driven by Elizabeth, memories of the past, at the dinner, her husband, with the Senator? Capt Jasper in the back of the cab? Her being abducted?
8. Her being returned to the camp, her nightmares? With the Senator? The impact of the cell phone? The 21st-century? Her talking with Eli, the possibilities for escape? The plan? Hiding in the cotton? Their being pursued, Capt Jasper, the Senator? Her riding the horse? The violent confrontations, the sword, the death of these Senator? The pursuit by Elizabeth, the confrontation, the fight, Elizabeth’s death? Veronica’s phone calls to her husband? The liberation?
9. The revelation of Antebellum as the theme Park, Louisiana, Denton as the owner, the vivid re-enactments, the races, the Confederate mentality, exercising violence? The closing down of the park, its destruction?
10. A story from the African- American perspective? The memories of slavery? The races? Its continuation into racist attitudes and behaviour in the 21st-century?
