Winnie

Upon entering the theater I knew that I was coming to see a 2 hour movie which in no way, shape or form could capture every epic detail and nuance (historical and personal) over a 50 year period of Winnie Mandela's life story. What amazes me is the amount of negative criticism and unrealistic expectations that this film has received. Those types of lofty goals could only be accomplished in an 8 part miniseries not a 2 hour film.

Keeping an open mind, I sat down not knowing what to expect. What I received was the privilege of witnessing a captivating film with outstanding performances. Ms. Hudson pleasantly surprises with her depth of character as Winnie Mandela (not the smirks, attitude and singing which won her an Oscar in Dreamgirls)... she was able to go there. Furthermore, I appreciate the fact that the film does not attempt to "sugarcoat" Winnie's journey. Mr. Howard was a brilliant choice to portray Nelson Mandela... he possessed both the strength and elegance of the icon. Supporting cast performances were also excellent.

As the credits rolled the audience sat quietly almost as if glued to their seats. After the final credit rolled my experience was summed up by a fellow audience member who stood, stretched and said... WOW! I walked away from that theater in astonishment... they actually pulled it off! I see Oscar nods for both Howard and Hudson and possibly Mr. Koteas. The only thing working against this film and possible nominations is that it is not part of the "Hollywood Machine" which force feeds movies, reviews and awards. I truly hope that this lovely film does not fall victim to the "Hollywood Monster" lurking over it. Disregard the reviews... go see this movie, you'll be pleasantly surprised!

I was surprised at the negative tone of other reviews. I thought this was an excellent piece of work --- acting --- production --- accuracy. I wondered whether it was going to glamourize Mandella with an unrealistically positive spin. But no, it does a good job of illustrating the unfortunate turn her life took in the later years of the South African struggle. She ended up as a vindictive,foul mouthed, autocratic drunk. But you understand how that came to be after her long ordeal, which was powerfully portrayed. I also was surprised to find that this was largely a Canadian production. It had none of the pretentious unoriginality that marks so many Canadian films, especially those done for Canadian cable television. It was believable, watchable and informative!

"She spent nearly 500 days in prison, 400 of them alone in solitary. She was exiled, they harassed her, they nearly killed her. Her contribution to the struggle is beyond calculation." This movie follows the life of Winnie (Hudson) from birth to her life with husband Nelson Mandela (Howard) and beyond. It shows her transformation from shy student to activist. I hate to admit it but I knew next to nothing about this woman before I started the movie. For that reason going in my first thought was, why make a movie about her when Nelson is much more interesting. After watching this my thoughts changed to why don't they make more movies about her. I'm not sure how accurate this movie is but I found it to be very interesting and really made me feel for her. Seeing a woman who was shy and had her life ahead of her end up being broken by seeing the way her life was affected by her husbands sentence gives you conflicting emotions. On one hand you want her to do the things she is doing while at the same time you know she should stop. The end of the movie is so bittersweet that it's hard to feel happy about what happened. The only really bad thing I have to say about this is that it really had the feel of a Lifetime movie. Overall, my feelings went from why a movie about her to why aren't there more movies about her. I highly recommend this. I give it an A-.

I viewed this at the Toronto International Film Festival where it premiered without a final soundtrack and with the end credits missing. But that's not what's important. Sadly, Winnie bites off more than it can chew due to weak, amateurish writing and clichéd action scenes, choppy story-telling and most of all, the casting of Jennifer Hudson, who is embarrassingly over her head as the love of Mandela's life. The larger historical,political and cultural context of this epic tale is missing, and although the basic 'facts' are there, it comes across as lifeless, wooden, artificial and often cloyingly sentimental. There are some bad choices in the story-telling in the interest of Hollywoodizing the saga for audiences who may not be knowledgeable about South African history or realities. Terrence Howard tries hard against the challenges of a lousy script and heavy-handed direction, and ages brilliantly as Mandela. He can't, single-handedly, save the film, so at the moment, the entire project feels as if it's headed straight to DVD.

It is a week since the death of Mandela that I decided to have a marathon of all things biographical of the great man. I started with Winnie and was not disappointed but was not all that thrilled. If you are looking for something to match Richard Attenborough's 'Cry Freedom' perhaps this is not one, but it sure makes a good start. I'd hoped it would match Luc Besson's 'The Lady', in its execution I guess it does but not so much on the script. Everything is only lightly and briefly touched; Winnie's childhood, her time in Jan Hofmeyer School, her courtship with Madiba, her struggle while incarcerated.

This movie does not really talk about the struggles of the couple and little light is shed on Winnie's role as a mother and her contribution within the family unit itself. If anything the movie a great reminder that behind a great man, there is always that crazy woman who makes sure all is taken care of.

One scene that makes most impact on me personally is the time when the policemen raided her house after the wedding and ruined the piece of wedding cake she had saved. Nothing is introduced on the reason why the piece is saved; whether this is customary or for any sentimental value.

Yet 7/10 must be given solely for the spectacular performances of the actors, each bringing great life to the, otherwise flat, story. The makeup team had done an amazing job trying to match both Jennifer Hudson's and Terrence Howard's appearances to match the figures they are portraying. Hat's off to the production team.