The Epic Untold Love Story :
Winnie Mandela
Often, it’s actors who cannot withstand the burden on playing historical figures. In the case of “Winnie Mandela,” Jennifer Hudson has the opposite problem. It’s the movie around her that doesn't rise to the challenge.
Co-writer and director Darrell Roodt’s film is based on a 2005 biography of Winnie Mandela. But unlike the woman who often polarized her fellow South Africans, the film feels static. At one point, faux newsreel footage and a montage of newspaper headlines depict the hunt for and imprisonment of Nelson Mandela.
Any urgency the movie comes from co-star Terrence Howard, a firebrand of an actor who can’t be contained by a paint-by-numbers script.
Glimpsed briefly during her childhood in a tribal community, Winnie (Hudson) may have been a disappointment to her father, who wanted a boy, but she soon proves herself a worthy warrior. As a young adult, she works as a nurse and captures the eye of Nelson Mandela at a rally. They court and marry, and as his fight for democracy leads to arrest and imprisonment, Winnie stands with him.
As Winnie works to free Nelson from Robben Island Prison, she picks up the struggle for a free and equal South Africa, eventually being imprisoned herself for refusing to reveal the inner workings of the anti-apartheid movement. (She recites Shakespeare and talks to roaches to retain her sanity during solitary confinement.) An officious government leader (Elias Koteas) cannot figure out how to break her spirit, so eventually gives up and orders her release.
Winnie becomes her husband’s voice on the outside and a rallying point for the African National Congress (ANC). She’s forced to live in virtual exile, until the opportunity comes to regain prominence and again rally her people. After scandal erupts, the ANC separates itself from her and then makes a dramatic announcement upon Nelson’s release.
Hudson, the former “American Idol” finalist whose Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Dreamgirls” was based not just on her vocal strength but also an openhearted-ness the camera couldn't miss, matches that here with a steadfast intelligence. Though it’s hard for her to equal Howard’s charisma and energy in early scenes, as Nelson ages and Howard dials down, their roles, in essence, reverse.
But the film doesn’t match them. Distant and obvious, it takes a story with many angles and reduces its edges, becoming a glorified TV movie. The real Winnie Mandela has denounced the film for being made without her cooperation, which in this case does not necessarily mean its revelations are surprising.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
I would rather watch paint dry
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