Checked out the new rental (I saw it on iTunes) Antebellum. This looked interesting when I saw the trailers in the Old Times… and it finally gave in and released to streaming instead of theatrically.
Antebellum is a kind of suspense/thriller/horror movie set on a slave plantation during the Civil War. But that’s not all the movie is about and saying much more spoils the twists and turns… so I’ll just say that the trailer showed an airplane flying overheard in one shot. The film, dancing around the plot here, has scenes set in modern day and on the slave plantation… so part of the fun was trying to figure out what genre the movie was playing in…
Unfortunately, once the plot was revealed and it was clear what was going on, it lead to questions that the movie didn’t answer. It was an intriguing idea but there are no characters in the film that ask questions or have any thoughtful conversations (and the bad guys are too paper thin Bad Guys to get anything interesting out of). Instead, it decides to just be a horror movie with a revenge plot that’s supposed to be cathartic. I wanted something smarter, more intellectual… something more than the “yeah… but I’m not sure that would work” details they provide. It’s a bit of a mess that brushes close to being grossly exploitative on two different levels.
But, hey, the movie does look great. Fantastic cinematography and shot composition. The acting is good… Janelle Monae is the star and, while I still don’t think she got enough to do, she’s still a compelling screen presence.
This movie isn’t a disaster but it is full of half-formed ideas that some people will find short-sighted, crude, or just in bad taste. I can’t disagree with those assessments. It’s a well-made but empty exploration of race and exploitation. I wish it had the cinematic smarts to actually explore its ideas.
Score: 72