Winnie Mandela

Great historical drama! When i first saw that Terrence Howard and Jennifer Hudson were playing the lead roles i was doubtful that they could pull off a creditable performance. Boy was i wrong! From what i know of the actual Mandela story, seeing how i have been following the real story since the apartheid protests began in the 60's, i would say that both Howard and Hudson channeled both Mandela and Winnie!! my only regret is the movie did not receive the acclaim that it deserved! I thought that Hudson did a great job in her acting debut in Dreamgirls. However, i thought that her performance in Winnie was far better! In Dreamgirls she(Hudson) was nominated for an academy award yet no mention for her excellent performance in Winnie!!

This biopic about the first wife of iconic and legendary South African statesman and apartheid adversary Nelson Mandela, stars Academy Award winning actress Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) as the title character who was raised in a strict, rural upbringing with a schoolteacher father who was disappointed with the fact that she was his sixth daughter. Winnie worked hard to win his approval and when she was of age she moved to the city to pursue medical school -- which was unusual in a sexist, apartheid South Africa. It was here that she met (and almost reluctantly) fell in love with the young political revolutionary Mandela (Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow) who was already an "enemy" of the white government for believing in equality.

The film is rather shaky in that it doesn't really appear to know how it wants to portray Winnie and while an Oscar-winner (in a good performance with one STELLAR, knockout scene), Hudson does appear to have a limited acting range. After Nelson is arrested and incarcerated, Winnie also faces some horrible and unjust, inhumane abuses at the hands of the South African government. Once she is freed she attempts to carry his mantle but does so with some very questionable actions that have today tainted her legacy.

The film perhaps wants to be overly honest but in doing so Winnie doesn't come across as a winning figure for such a biopic. She is quite polarizing and the "hero tone" the film presents is rather conflicting. This could possibly all be intentional on the filmmaker's part.

Different time ... different place. She was strong and she was not broken and she did NOT give up. Like her or not -- she was no Nelson -- but I wish this movie had been better.

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.

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!