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Nate Parker's "Birth of a Nation" is flawed, haunting

Director Nate Parker's "Birth of a Nation" is challenging on a number of levels, not the least of which is the impossibility of adequately addressing the film's political, historical, and emotional context within the confines of a mere few paragraphs.  I am tackling this review knowing that I can't do that part justice, and I feel that it's appropriate to acknowledge that point up front.

It's certainly possible to watch "Birth of a Nation" without knowing that it takes its name from the 1915 DW Griffith production that is alternately known for its pioneering place in film history - it was the first "epic" ever produced, the most profitable film of its time, and the first film ever shown at the White House - and for being notoriously, explicitly racist.  I suppose it's also possible, though it would certainly be more difficult, to watch the film without being uncomfortably aware of how the action onscreen is juxtaposed against the current climate of racial unrest and gun-related violence in the US.

"Birth" is the story of Nat Turner, who led a slave rebellion in Virginia in 1831.  Here Nat is played by Nate Parker ("Every Secret Thing", "Red Hook Summer"), who also serves as co-writer, director, and producer.  The film is clearly a passion project for Mr. Parker.

A glance at the actor's resume shows that he's been in a lot of indie films, but his approach to "Birth" is that of a classic Hollywood biopic: we meet Nat Turner as a child on the Turner plantation, where the lady of the house, Elizabeth Turner (Penelope Ann Miller), recognizes his intelligence and fosters his literacy - unusual treatment for a slave at that time.  Conditions at the Turner place aren't terrible, but as Nat grows to adulthood his new master, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), tends toward drinking and develops an unpredictable temperament.  However, he's willing to take Nat around to nearby plantations to preach to the slaves there, and he's happy to earn money for Nat's sermons.  It's on these trips that Nat sees the truly inhumane living conditions of most of his fellow slaves, and he's inspired to begin an uprising.

"Birth" is brutally effective at depicting the monstrous indignity of slavery - not only the physical assaults and neglects, but also the emotional and spiritual indignity of a life spent with one's destiny wholly in someone else's hands.  Mr. Parker ably conveys Nat's growing awareness of the conditions around him, his horror at the abuse he witnesses, and his turn toward rebellion and, perhaps, martyrdom.

As a writer and director Mr. Parker is occasionally inconsistent.  There's an incongruously modern tone to some of "Birth"'s passages that give it the fleeting feel of a historical reenactment, and several of the white characters are so broadly sketched that they become caricatures, complete with wince-inducing corn-pone dialogue.

But you'll forget that entirely when you see the montage that he has crafted to depict the fallout of the slave uprising.  Nina Simone's "Strange Fruit" plays as the camera follows a butterfly landing on a child's lynched body, then pans slowly backward to take in the scope of all the bodies hanging from the tree.  It's a deeply unsettling, paradoxically beautiful shot.

"Birth of a Nation" isn't perfect but it is clearly passionate, and it's sure to generate plenty of powerful discussions in the weeks and months ahead.  It's not an easy film to watch: it's intense and uncomfortable and it raises questions that not everybody wants to explore, but there's a surprising beauty in its depiction of the clarity of righteous anger.  The term "haunting" might be overused, but it may be apt in this case: we continue to be haunted by our national history, and with "Birth" perhaps Mr. Parker can spark dialogue that will help to put some of the bad spirits to rest.